‘Tell the General I’m Sorry’: Trump Reportedly Blamed Hegseth for Army Chief’s Firing in Call With GOP Senator
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
President Donald Trump reportedly pointed the finger at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a call with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) over the firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, telling her, “Tell the general I’m sorry.”
According to a Tuesday report from The New York Times, Ernst called Trump after Hegseth abruptly ousted George in April, arguing that the general — a fellow Iowan — was among the Army’s best officers. She also allegedly noted that George’s parents had voted for Trump.
The president responded by telling Ernst that the decision to remove George had been Hegseth’s, then added a message for the former chief of staff: “Tell the general I’m sorry.”
The episode came after Ernst believed she had received assurances from Hegseth that George would be allowed to serve out his term, which was scheduled to run through mid-2027, the Times reported.
The defense secretary fired George during a roughly 15-second phone call less than two months after Gen. Christopher LaNeve, Hegseth’s former senior military aide, was sworn in as the Army’s vice chief of staff.
LaNeve is now also serving as acting Army chief, but his path to permanently taking over the top job has run into opposition in the Senate — including from Ernst. According to the Times, he currently lacks sufficient Republican support for confirmation.
Additionally, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to depart the Trump administration soon following reported tensions with Hegseth. The Wall Street Journal first reported last week that Driscoll could leave before the end of the year.
And per the Times, Driscoll is now “barely on speaking terms” with Hegseth and has already moved his family out of the home he had been renting at Fort Myer, despite receiving a public vote of confidence from Trump just last month, when the president said he had a “beautiful smile, but he’s actually a killer” during a defense conference in Pennsylvania.
Interestingly, an April report from the New York Post alleged Hegseth was increasingly consumed by “paranoia” over the possibility he could be pushed out and replaced by Driscoll.
The report, citing current and former administration officials, said Hegseth’s anxiety about Driscoll’s standing inside Trump’s orbit helped drive George’s firing, along with the ousters of Gen. David Hodne and Maj. Gen. William Green.
The post ‘Tell the General I’m Sorry’: Trump Reportedly Blamed Hegseth for Army Chief’s Firing in Call With GOP Senator first appeared on Mediaite.