WASHINGTON — War Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the removal of the Army’s top spokesman as part of a sweeping overhaul of Pentagon leadership under President Trump. The move is part of a broader shake-up that began when Hegseth took over the Pentagon in 2025 and quickly pushed out or forced into retirement several top military leaders — including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and multiple service chiefs — often without publicly stated reasons. Hegseth has framed the changes as an effort to bring new leadership and refocus the military, though critics familiar with the ouster say Butler’s removal has more to do with internal administration politics over ridding the Pentagon of the last holdouts from the Biden administration.
Author: Caitlin Doornbos
Published at: 2026-02-17 22:00:29
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