Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced he was firing Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti on Friday, the same day as he relieved Air Force General Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the New York Times. According to the Times and other reports, Hegseth said Franchetti and General James Slife, the service’s vice chief of staff, also fired, had “distinguished careers,” and “we thank them for their service and dedication to our country.” Franchetti was the 33rd chief of naval operations, the first woman to be CNO and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She entered the Navy after earning a degree in journalism at Northwestern University and joining the Naval ROTC program there. She later commanded the destroyer USS Ross, commanded U.S. Naval forces in Korea, commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and director of strategy, plans and policy for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a startling announcement on Friday, shaking the foundation of the U.S. Navy by dismissing Adm. Lisa Franchetti from her

Donald Trump's first “Friday Night Massacre” targeted inspectors general and his second targeted judge advocates general. The war on accountability continues.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the dismissal of Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations, and James C. Slife, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He issued a statement requesting nominations to fill their vacated positions.

The decision to replace Admiral Franchetti as CNO comes a month after Admiral Linda Fagan was relieved of duties as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Pete Hegseth defended President Donald Trump’s purge of “woke generals" and Pentagon officials, saying that the “status quo" at the Pentagon “hasn’t worked" and that it is “time for fresh blood."

Officials are pushing back on the notion that the Department of Defense has a "list" of flag officers that Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to fire.

"It's the beginning of a very, very serious degradation of the military and politicization of the military," he said.