Hegseth fires Trump-appointed US Navy chief from Pentagon

The United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has fired the President Trump appointed Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison from his role on Friday, October 3, 2025.

The Department of War announced in a statement, “Jon Harrison will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Navy. We are grateful for his service to the department.”

It has been revealed that Harrison was Trump’s political appointee and he has been fired because he implemented sweeping changes in Navy’s policy and budgeting divisions.

This reorganization in the Armed forces comes just days before the Senate's confirmation of Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao.

Politico reports that Navy Secretary John Phelan and Harrison wanted to interview the candidates coming for military aide’s role of the undersecretary to ensure that all major decisions remained under the secretary’s oversight.

The Department of War, formerly known as Department of Defense, has been undergoing a major overhaul under Pete Hegseth’s leadership.

He has previously fired former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown and former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and former chief of staff to the deputy secretary of war Colin Carroll.

Amid all this restructuring, President Trump has announced to host an event, honouring the country's naval forces, on Sunday.