Pentagon chief fires head of Defense Intelligence Agency - Tass

Pentagon chief fires head of Defense Intelligence Agency - Tass

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse from his position as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), according to two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday [1]. The move comes amidst a series of high-profile firings and reshuffles within the U.S. military and intelligence community under the Trump administration.

The reasons behind Kruse's firing are unclear, but his removal is the latest in a series of dismissals targeting senior military and intelligence officials whose views are seen as at odds with President Donald Trump. In April, Trump fired General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, and in February, Hegseth fired Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of U.S. military leadership [1].

The firing of Kruse follows a preliminary DIA assessment that leaked to the media, suggesting that the June 22 U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities had set Tehran’s program back only a few months, contradicting Trump’s claim that the targets were "obliterated" [1]. The White House denounced the assessment, labeling it "flat out wrong," and Trump attacked CNN and other outlets that reported on the leaked findings.

The Trump administration has been conducting a sweeping purge of U.S. military and intelligence officers and diplomats, citing a desire to reduce the size of the federal government and combat the "politicization or weaponization" of intelligence [1]. This week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the revocation of security clearances for 37 current and former U.S. intelligence professionals, including former Vice President Kamala Harris [1].

The firing of Kruse and other officials has raised concerns among Democrats in Congress, who see the administration's actions as a dangerous precedent for the intelligence community. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, slammed the move as another example of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for the country [1].

Reference List:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/head-pentagons-intelligence-agency-fired-officials-say-2025-08-22/
[2] https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/08/22/hegseth-fires-head-of-defense-intelligence-agency/