Collins slams Hegseth’s removal of senior military officers

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday for the removal of more than two dozen senior military officers since taking the helm at the Pentagon. 

“I find this deeply troubling,” Collins said during her opening statement of an appropriations hearing. “These are men and women who volunteered to serve our country and swore an oath to support and defend our Constitution.”

Collins, who is running in a competitive reelection Senate race, highlighted the February 2025 firing of Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who was the first woman to lead the Navy. 

The Maine Republican noted that since taking the lead at the Pentagon, Hegseth has removed senior military officers, blocked promotions across three service branches and intervened in several senior officers’ assignments. 

Collins also highlighted news reports that women and people of color were “disproportionately” fired or sidelined, arguing that these oustings will likely discourage well-qualified women and individuals of color from joining the armed forces, “thus depriving us of their talent, dedication, and patriotism.” 

“The United States military is one of the greatest meritocracies in the free world,” she said. “We need to make sure that it stays that way.” 

Hegseth’s firing of senior military officers, including former Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George and the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Gen. Chris Donahue, has prompted concerns among lawmakers in both parties. 

Last month, the House Armed Services Committee adopted a provision without objections in a bipartisan voice vote in the annual National Defense Authorization Act that would demand the Pentagon tell Congress why senior military officers were fired or dismissed within five days. 

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