Secretary of War Pete Hegseth abruptly dismissed Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison on Friday, marking the latest high-level shakeup inside the Pentagon.
Harrison’s removal came just days after Hung Cao was confirmed as Navy Undersecretary. The Pentagon released a statement acknowledging Harrison’s departure, saying only: “He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy. We are grateful for his service to the Department.”
Traditionally, the Navy secretary’s chief of staff serves quietly behind the scenes. Harrison, however, wielded an unusual degree of authority after joining the department in January as a Trump administration appointee. Alongside Navy Secretary John Phelan, he drove sweeping changes to the Navy’s policy and budgeting offices while working to curb the influence of the undersecretary position.
🚨 BREAKING: US Senate CONFIRMS Trump nominee Hung Cao as Under Secretary for the Navy, 52-45.
Hung Cao served in the Navy for YEARS and fled communism from Vietnam. He ran for Virginia US Senate in 2024. 🔥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/YmjRoOFx1z
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 1, 2025
According to defense officials, those efforts contributed to the tensions surrounding his ouster following Cao’s confirmation.
The move is part of a broader restructuring under Hegseth. Earlier this summer, he dismissed Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, after the release of a disputed intelligence assessment concerning U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Earlier in the year, Hegseth also formally disbanded all members of the Department of Defense’s advisory committees.
Harrison’s firing underscores the ongoing effort by President Trump’s defense team to reshape leadership and consolidate authority within the Pentagon.