Defense Secretary Hegseth fires Navy Chief of staff Jon Harrison amid Pentagon shakeup

Hegseth fires top Navy official

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday dismissed Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison, a highly influential aide who had managed a significant reshuffle of the service’s bureaucracy. According to two defense officials and a former defense official, the move comes shortly after the confirmation of Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao.

The Pentagon confirmed Harrison’s departure, stating: “He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy. We are grateful for his service to the Department.” Harrison declined to comment.

Traditionally, the Navy secretary’s chief of staff operates behind the scenes, ensuring the smooth running of daily operations. However, Harrison, a Trump administration appointee who joined in January, wielded an unusually high degree of power.

He and Navy Secretary John Phelan implemented extensive changes to the Navy’s policy and budgeting offices and sought to curb the influence of the undersecretary position.

Politico reported that Harrison and Phelan had reassigned several aides meant to assist Cao in navigating the role once confirmed.

“They had also planned to interview all future military assistants for Cao to ensure decisions came from the secretary’s office,” the report added. Cao, a Navy veteran and former Republican Senate candidate in Virginia, was nominated by President Trump.

Earlier this week, Hegseth signed a memo to overhaul the military's watchdog agencies, raising concerns among officials that potential wrongdoing might go unexamined in the largest branch of the US government.

Hegseth himself is under investigation for using the commercial messaging app Signal to discuss Yemen attack plans.

The ouster of Harrison follows a period of frequent personnel changes within the Pentagon. Hegseth previously dismissed several top aides and removed the chair of the Joint Chiefs, along with the uniformed leaders of the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Trump has pledged to revive the shipbuilding industry, but the service’s largest programs remain behind schedule, while both U.S. allies and major adversaries have surpassed American shipyard productivity.