Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), marking the latest senior shake-up in the Trump administration’s ongoing purge of top national security officials, according to The Washington Post.
Pentagon officials cited a “loss of confidence” in Kruse — a phrase Hegseth has repeatedly used in the removal of other senior officers this year. The firing follows a June preliminary assessment from the DIA on U.S. military strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites. That report concluded the strikes had set back Tehran’s capabilities only by months, contradicting claims by Hegseth and President Donald Trump that the facilities had been “obliterated.”
Kruse’s ouster adds to a widening list of dismissals. Since taking office, Hegseth has removed Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles “C.Q.” Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin also announced his resignation last week after being forced out.
The shake-ups extend beyond the Pentagon. Trump and his allies have replaced multiple intelligence leaders in recent months, including the head of the National Security Agency and senior officials at the National Intelligence Council, after assessments that ran counter to the administration’s positions.
The Pentagon and DIA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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