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4h ago

Hegseth Targets JAG Corps With Firings, Rank Cuts and DOJ Transfer Plan

Officials portray the moves as a bid to mute independent legal advice across the Pentagon.

Members of the Army cheer as President Donald Trump dances before speaking at Fort Bragg, a US Army military installation near Fayetteville, North Carolina, on June 10, 2025.
A senior military officer wears two stars on the shoulder of their uniform during a meeting convened by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30, 2025.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30, 2025.

Overview

  • Reports say Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed the Army’s Lt. Gen. Joe Berger and the Air Force’s Lt. Gen. Charles Plummer after labeling them roadblocks to presidential orders.
  • Current and former officials told CNN the dismissals were intended as warning shots that legal officers were expected to support plans that could test legal boundaries.
  • Hegseth lowered the top uniformed JAG billets from three-star to two-star positions, a shift former officials say keeps senior lawyers out of key high-level meetings.
  • Sources report a plan to transfer hundreds of military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as immigration judges, pulling them out of the military justice system.
  • Hegseth enlisted his personal attorney, Tim Parlatore, to coordinate changes while interviews for replacements include political litmus tests that JAGs say are pressuring them to stay quiet.