Since being confirmed earlier this year, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has made no secret of his desire to shake things up at the department he oversees.

The latest example of that came this past week when Hegseth stunned the Pentagon by firing a high-level official. 

Chief of staff to secretary of the Navy removed

According to Politico, Hegseth moved on Friday to fire Jon Harrison, who had been serving as chief of staff to the secretary of the Navy.

"He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy. We are grateful for his service to the Department," Politico quoted the Pentagon as saying of Harris in a statement.

The publication noted how Harrison's departure came just days after the Senate voted to confirm Hung Cao as under secretary of the Navy.

It also pointed out that Harrison and Navy Secretary John Phelan previously made sweeping changes to how the Navy's budgeting and policy offices functioned, with the role of undersecretary being minimized as a result.

Sources say Phelan and Harrison sought to undermine Cao

What's more, the website revealed in July that Phelan and Harrison had reassigned several aides who had been expected to assist Cao with moving into his new role.

The Navy secretary is trying to limit a deputy's role — before he's even confirmed https://t.co/wwCX6z9Xs8

— POLITICO (@politico) July 26, 2025

The pair also planned to interview all future assistants to the incoming undersecretary as part of an effort to centralize decision making.

Politico spoke with four unnamed figures said to be familiar with the matter, and they stressed that Phelan and Harrison were trying to preemptively limit Cao's influence.

Trump touted Cao's credentials in a Truth Social post

For his part, President Donald Trump put up a Truth Social post in February which hailed Cao's story as "the embodiment of the American dream."

"As a refugee to our Great Nation, Hung worked tirelessly to make proud the Country that gave his family a home. He went to our amazing United States Naval Academy and later earned his Master's degree in Physics," Trump recalled.

The president explained that Cao "served in combat as a Special Operations Officer for twenty five years" before predicting he would "get the job done."

Cao made headlines late last year when he took issue with the Biden administration's approach to recruitment, saying, "When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want."