The Trump administration has overseen another significant shake-up in the US defense and intelligence community. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), along with two other senior officers — Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton ‘Jamie’ Sands III, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.
The Pentagon did not provide reasons for their removals.
Kruse’s removal follows the release of an initial intelligence assessment produced by the DIA after US airstrikes in June targeted Iranian nuclear sites. That assessment concluded Iran’s program had been delayed only a few months, a finding that contradicted President Donald Trump’s public claim that the facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the president’s description of the strikes, while the DIA’s internal analysis offered a far more limited measure of impact.
The report, which eventually leaked, became a point of friction between the administration and the intelligence community.
At a press conference following the strikes, Hegseth defended the mission’s success, calling it “historically successful,” and urged the public not to focus on preliminary assessments. However, he did not present evidence to support the claim that Iran’s nuclear production capacity had been permanently destroyed.
Wider Leadership Turnover
The removal of Kruse, Lacore, and Sands adds to a series of recent high-level changes across the military and intelligence agencies since the beginning of Trump’s second term.
Earlier this year, the administration replaced Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, removed the Navy’s top officer and the Air Force’s second-highest-ranking officer, and dismissed several senior military legal officials.
In April, Gen. Tim Haugh was removed as head of the National Security Agency, and Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, who held a senior NATO position, was also relieved of duty.
Meanwhile, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced plans to retire two years ahead of schedule, a move that Pentagon officials have linked to the broader environment of uncertainty within senior ranks.
These changes reflect what many analysts describe as an ongoing reorganization of the defense establishment under Trump and Hegseth.
In addition to personnel removals, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has announced staff and budget cuts and has revoked security clearances for several current and former officials. The administration has used clearance revocations as a tool against individuals it regards as critics or opponents.
Blowback and Alarm Bells
The dismissals have drawn strong responses from members of Congress, particularly Democrats on the intelligence committees.
Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the removal of Kruse and others “underscores the Trump administration’s dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country.”
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration must provide a clear rationale for Kruse’s dismissal or risk fueling the perception that the move was politically motivated.
“Otherwise,” Himes said, “we can only assume that this is another decision intended to create an atmosphere of fear within the intelligence community.”
Broader Context
The Trump administration has previously clashed with intelligence agencies, most prominently over assessments of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump rejected findings that Russia acted to aid his campaign, and since then his administration has taken steps that critics argue undermine the independence of government analysis. These include halting the publication of certain climate change reports, canceling studies on vaccine access, and removing data on gender identity from federal websites.
The dismissal of Kruse in particular underscores the friction between political leaders and the intelligence community’s analytical role. Intelligence assessments are often nuanced and tentative, particularly in the early aftermath of major military operations.
Critics argue that penalizing officials for presenting unwelcome conclusions risks discouraging accurate and objective analysis in the future.
Closing Fire
Call it a purge, call it a loyalty crusade—either way, the Trump-Hegseth team is reshaping the US military and intelligence ranks with ruthless efficiency. Lt. Gen. Kruse’s dismissal is only the latest shot across the bow. When even the head of Naval Special Warfare and the Navy Reserve chief aren’t safe, it’s a signal: disagree with the commander-in-chief’s storyline, and your career is already over.