Iran's conflict has not subsided, and Hageses suddenly purges the high-ranking military officials, suspecting a fear of "power seizure" and striking first.

The Pentagon is playing out a power struggle right at the top—Defense Secretary Hegses suddenly purged senior Army leadership during the course of the Iran War.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the New York Post reports that the driving force behind it is not military considerations, but concern about his own position. The report says that on Thursday, Hegses ordered General Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, to immediately resign, without disclosing the reason.

At the same time, General David Hodne, commander of the Army Training and Transformation Command, and Major General William Green of the Army Chaplain Corps were also removed from their posts. The Pentagon said only that it was “time to make leadership changes.”

Multiple current and former government officials say that the real backdrop to this purge is Hegses’s deep suspicion of the Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll—he worries that Driscoll is trying to replace him as Defense Secretary.

“Where does the paranoia come from”

An official told the New York Post: “It all stems from the insecurity and paranoia that Hegses developed after the ‘Signalgate’ incident. Unfortunately, some of the most trusted assistants around him didn’t calm the situation—instead, they poured gasoline on the fire.”

The so-called “Signalgate” refers to Hegses, in March 2025, accidentally adding a reporter into a group chat involving national security officials. After that, his political standing has remained under sustained pressure.

A source familiar with the Trump administration further explained the logic chain: “He’s extremely worried about getting fired, and he knows Driscoll is one of the strongest candidates to replace him. So what Hegses has been doing is to target everyone he believes has a close relationship with Driscoll, and go after them. This is the latest—and also the most attention-grabbing—example.”

The source also revealed: “Hegses wants to fire Driscoll, but the White House tells him that, at least for now, he can’t do that.”

Why Driscoll makes Hegses so wary

Driscoll is no ordinary figure. He is a Yale Law School classmate of U.S. Vice President Vance, and both of them took part in the Iraq War. Last summer, Driscoll’s name was already being mentioned as a potential successor to Hegses.

Last fall, Driscoll traveled abroad as a negotiation representative for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, becoming a key turning point that deepened Hegses’s suspicions. A source said: “Pete is extremely uneasy that Driscoll has been talking behind the scenes with other people in the military. The final straw that broke the camel’s back for Hegses was that Vance arranged for Driscoll to serve as the chief negotiation representative for that meeting in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, within the Pentagon, discussions about Driscoll’s successor have already emerged. A government official said Hegses’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, is “self-promoting,” trying to become Secretary of the Army after Driscoll is fired.

Concerns raised by the timing of the infighting

The timing of this personnel upheaval is especially sensitive. According to Xinhua News Agency, on the evening of April 1, Wednesday, Trump delivered a primetime television address to lay out to the public his vision of ending the Iran War as soon as possible. The next day, the top Army commander was dismissed.

A source said bluntly: “It completely wrecks the tone and message the president wants to convey—that the war is making smooth progress.”

And Trump’s recent cabinet reshuffles—including last month’s firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Thursday’s firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi—further intensified the power struggle within the Pentagon. The source said the infighting “happens at the worst possible time.”

At present, there are no signs that Trump is prepared to immediately fire Hegses or Driscoll, but the game between them has pushed their respective political risks to new highs.

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