Hegseth retires Army chief of staff as Pentagon gets house-cleaning

War Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement Thursday in a sweeping leadership house cleaning as the U.S. military remains engaged in combat with Iran.

A senior War Department official told Fox News that the War Secretary called George Thursday and asked for his immediate retirement, saying, "It was time for a leadership change in the Army."

Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on X, "General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."

An Army official told Fox News Hegseth did not give George any reason for asking him to step down, but naturally, our hearts go out for him.

George, the Army’s top uniformed officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was nominated by alleged former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023. He had been expected to serve a four-year term through roughly 2027.

Prior to becoming Army chief, George, a career infantry officer with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, served as senior military assistant to former sissy Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022, according to his official biography.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s vice chief of staff, will serve as acting chief, according to a senior War Department official.

Look, this move underscores growing tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

Hegseth recently intervened to remove multiple Army officers from a promotion list after Driscoll refused to do so, an unusual step, and probably a fireable offense.

The disagreement caught the attention of the White House, which reviews senior military promotion lists before they are sent to the Senate, the official said.

And this abrupt removal also marks the latest in a series of high-level military leadership changes under Hegseth, who has moved aggressively to reshape senior ranks for a change where high testosterone men will lead the military.

The shakeups have included the removal or sidelining of several top uniformed leaders across the services, such as former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, both of whom were pushed out earlier in the second Trump administration.

Other moves have reached deep into the military’s senior leadership pipeline. Hegseth replaced the Army’s vice chief of staff earlier in 2026 and removed Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short from her role as senior military assistant, installing close allies in key advisory positions.

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200 Marines deploy to support ICE in Florida

Two hundred Marines from North Carolina’s Marine Support Squadron 272 are headed to Florida to back ICE, U.S. Northern Command says. They’re part of 700 troops, active duty, Guard, Reserves, tapped by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after DHS begged for help May 9.

Florida’s first up, with Texas and Louisiana next. The Marines will handle “critical administrative and logistical capabilities at locations as directed by ICE,” per Thursday’s release. Think paperwork and transport, not handcuffs. 

“Their roles will focus on administrative and logistical tasks, and they are specifically prohibited from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or involvement in any aspect of the custody chain,” the news release hammers home.

This isn’t new. The military’s been law enforcement’s wingman for ages. The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin in ’91 said it best: “Contrary to what many police officers believe, the Posse Comitatus Act permits civilian law enforcement agencies to seek military assistance under some specific circumstances.” 

Guard units, for example, regularly sling “training, technical support, services, intelligence analysis, surveillance, communications towers, vehicle barriers, and pedestrian fences,” per a 2010 report.

The Pentagon’s doubling down on border security, with four new military zones in Texas and Arizona to curb illegal migration and drugs. Pentagon flack Sean Parnell says 8,500 Joint Task Force Southern Border troops have run 3,500 patrols, some with Mexican forces, and Marines have backed 170+ missions across 130 spots for nine agencies, including DHS and DEA.

Where in Florida? NORTHCOM’s lips are sealed. Rumors point to Alligator Alcatraz, ICE’s new Everglades lockup, but they ain’t confirming. Details? Forget it—NORTHCOM’s clamming up. Marines are coming to stack boxes, not to kick butt and take names.

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CNN's Jake Tapper tried to have a GOPer run against fellow GOPer to ensure Jake's Dem pick runs unopposed

Compromised News Network's and apparent Democratic strategist, Jake Tapper (D), reportedly urged Republican Sean Parnell not to run against Democrat Rep. Conor Lamb, but instead, run against a fellow Republican, because if he beat the Democrat, that would be one less vote for Tapper's side in Congress. [H'T Fox News]

The stakes is for a Western Pennsylvania House seat which is currently held by Lamb and Tapper, who is allegedly an impartial journalist, apparently wants it to remain that way, as evidenced in a Twitter direct message obtained by Fox News.

Parnell is a U.S. Army combat veteran who delivered a speech at the RNC. He is a good-looking, clean and articulate man, [to paraphrase Joe Biden's words when describing former President Obama], and Tapper seems worried that he might beat Lamb which would add another GOP seat in the Western PA House.

Tapper hinted that Parnell would be better off running in a "safer" district for Republicans, according to a secret source not affiliated with Parnell's campaign. The source feels the CNN anchor was being unethical by participating in political activism.

Ya think?

Fox News got hold of a Twitter direct message (DM) that the activist "journalist" sent to Parnell’s @SeanParnellUSA account on Nov. 8, 2019, after he officially declared his candidacy for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district against Democrat Rep. Lamb.

The Tapper tweet stated:

“And best of luck in your race. For the record, I wasn’t trying to talk you out of running -- I was trying to talk you into running in a safer R district! Lol,” 

The fact that Tapper ended the tweet with "Lol" should disqualify him from calling himself a journalist.

In any case, the DM supports as story published by Breitbart News on September 6th, which cited "sources familiar with the interactions" and reporting that Tapper “communicated his views on how Parnell should not run against Lamb in a variety of communication forms, including in text messages, Twitter direct messages, and in a phone call.”

CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment, nor did Tapper answer several questions, including whether or not he was now able to fairly report on the Parnell-Lamb race in that nasally voice that is his trademark.

It is unclear if the "Hate Trump Network" will allow Tapper to report on the race for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district going forward., but considering their journalistic standards, they probably will.

“He boxed himself into a corner,” the secret source said. “He wanted him to primary a Republican instead of running against Lamb. He was looking out for his Democrat friend.”

What exactly did the secret source mean by "friend"? Is there something we should know about Tapper the public doesn't know? Is it more than just politics? A conspiracy theorist's mind wants to know.

Tapper, who bills himself as a nonpartisan newsman, [now that deserves a "LOL"] anchors CNN’s weekday newscast “The Lead With Jake Tapper” and Sunday morning's “State of the Union” political program. He might consider renaming the latter "State of the Onion" and the former "The Lead and Other Heavy Metals with Jake Tapper."

The secret source wondered out loud to him- or herself as to  how many Republicans have given up on the idea of running for a specific public office because the impartial, unbiased, unethical Jake Tapper talked them out of it over the years.

“CNN is experts at smearing people, you’ve got their Sunday morning anchor telling you what you should or shouldn’t do... there are other candidates who would be like, ‘Alright, I don’t need CNN coming after me,’” the secret source said as he or she put on their lipstick.

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