'It Disturbs Me': GOP Senators Go Off on Pete Hegseth After the Secretary of Defense's U.S. Military Firing Spree
Susan Collins is disturbed by Hegseth's promotion management.
Oct. 6 2026, Published 12:36 p.m. ET
Republican senators said they were blindsided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to cut 20% of the military's generals and admirals, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the pattern of who is not being promoted disturbs her, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Hegseth announced the reduction last week and called it accountability that was long overdue.
Republicans Blindsided By Hegseth's Actions
Hegseth believes the reduction is long overdue.
"You can't change a culture with the same people who enabled it," Hegseth said. "Personnel is policy at every single level."
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said he was informed shortly before the announcement.
"I wouldn't have made that a priority if I had been asked," Wicker said. "I didn't get a long lead."
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a senior member of the committee, said Hegseth did not explain the plan to Republicans or Democrats on the oversight and appropriations committees before he acted.
"I'm not going to say a 20% reduction is not warranted," she said. "The problem is that the secretary did not come and explain this to us before acting on it, much like a lot of the firings that we've seen with military personnel."
Susan Collins Disturbed By Promotion Decisions
Collins believes the cuts are disproportionately targeting black people and women.
Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she also received no advanced notice. She told Hegseth at a hearing this year that his removal of senior officers was "deeply troubling" and risked "depriving us" of the "talent, dedication and patriotism" of women and people of color.
"Our system for promoting officers has always been an example of one of the greatest meritocracies that we have," she said. "There may be a need to reduce the overall number of flag officers at the Pentagon, but this approach seems to be targeted on ideology."
She added: "It also disturbs me that there's a disproportionate number of Blacks and females who are not being promoted."
Hegseth's Cuts Began In Early 2025
Hegseth has set out for removals since February of 2025.
The rank cut follows removals that began in February 2025. President Donald Trump fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as chief of naval operations, was removed the same month.
Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll later reportedly resigned after telling Trump that combat-tested leaders had been fired, and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking Democrat on Armed Services, has called the removals illegal.
Thom Tillis Has Lost Faith In Hegseth
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Hegseth's confirmation vote is Tillis' biggest regret.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Hegseth has failed to treat the committees that fund the department as stakeholders.
"Too much time has passed, and he's failed to respect Congress. He's never really given us fulsome briefings," Tillis said.
"We control his purse strings, and he's almost treating us like we're some line workers down in the manufacturing facility that he doesn't want to spend time with."
