Hegseth fires US Navy chief Harrison, a political appointee

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Navy chief of staff Jon Harrison, following rising tensions inside the Navy’s leadership. Pentagon confirmed Jon Harrison’s removal and said that he will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy and thanked him for his service. Harrison declined to comment. Harrison, a political appointee of President Trump, joined in January this year, held an unusually powerful role for what is typically a behind-the-scenes position. Alongside Secretary Phelan, he led a major restructuring of the Navy’s policy and budgeting offices and reportedly worked to limit the undersecretary’s influence. Prior to Cao’s confirmation, Phelan and Harrison reassigned aides meant to support him and had planned to vet all future military assistants to ensure control remained with the secretary’s office.
The reorganization was completed ahead of this week’s Senate confirmation of Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao – a former Republican Virginia Senate candidate – in an effort to limit the high-profile Trump pick’s influence. He was nominated by Donald Trump to help overhaul the struggling shipbuilding sector. Harrison’s ouster is the latest in a series of shakeups by Hegseth, who has already removed several top Pentagon aides and uniformed military leaders as part of a broader effort to reassert civilian control and align leadership with Trump’s defense agenda.
Harrison’s departure is the latest in a string of firings at the Pentagon. Hegseth previously ousted former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown and former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. He also axed three key War Department aides — Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and former chief of staff to the deputy secretary of war Colin Carroll – earlier this year after a bureaucratic turf war fueled by ego and personality clashes.