Kelly: Hegseth’s firings of top generals, admirals damage ‘our readiness’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ouster of top generals and admirals from the U.S. military are “damaging our readiness,” according to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired astronaut and Navy captain.

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kelly said Hegseth’s intended 20 percent reduction of the top of the ranks — announced last week — would only hurt national security.

“When you hurt readiness, it means that all of us … are less safe because we have the most unqualified secretary of Defense we’ve ever had in this country’s history,” Kelly said Sunday on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

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He also accused Hegseth of often firing people “because of the color of their skin or because they’re women.”

The Defense secretary last week defended the reduction in senior officers’ ranks as promoting “accountability” and “long overdue,” in a speech at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va.

Several top Republican senators have since said they were blindsided by the decision and are not pleased about the lack of consultation with Congress.

These GOP lawmakers also worry too many experienced and highly qualified generals and admirals are being pushed out because of political or ideological reasons.

Adding to the furor is Hegseth’s reported intervention to stop the promotion of several Army officers, including Black and female officers who had been on track to become one-star generals.

Hegseth also blocked the promotion of nine Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior admirals, The New York Times reported in June.

Prior to that, Hegseth in February 2025 fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as chief of Naval Operations — a move that was criticized by Democratic lawmakers.

The Pentagon has denied claims that promotions and forced retirements were based on identity politics, with Hegseth telling the audience during his address at Quantico that his agency remains “colorblind, gender-neutral and merit-based.”

The Defense secretary and Kelly have often sparred publicly since Hegseth, an Army veteran and former Fox News host, was appointed to lead the Pentagon.

Hegseth’s campaign to punish Kelly for appearing in a video, in which six Democrats told members of the military to refuse illegal orders, has been a loser in court so far.