Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), has been abruptly fired, U.S. officials confirmed on Friday.

The dismissal marks the latest in a series of high-profile shake-ups within America’s military and intelligence leadership under President Donald Trump’s second administration. No official reason was provided for Kruse’s removal, but his ouster follows a pattern of turnover targeting officials perceived to be out of step with the White House.

Democratic lawmakers swiftly criticised the move, with Senator Mark Warner—Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee—warning that the decision reflects the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to “politicise intelligence” by treating it as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard of national security. The firing was first reported by The Washington Post and has fuelled mounting concerns over the administration’s purge of national security personnel.

Kruse’s dismissal comes in the wake of a leaked DIA assessment regarding the June 22 U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. While Trump had claimed that these strikes “obliterated” Tehran’s program, agency analysts privately concluded the attack had only set progress back by a few months. The leak infuriated the White House, with Trump railing against the intelligence community and denouncing the media outlets that reported on the findings.

The firing adds to a broad campaign by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has moved aggressively to reshape the Pentagon’s command structure. Earlier, Trump dismissed General Timothy Haugh as Director of the NSA and ousted Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in February—an unprecedented removal of senior uniformed officers alongside multiple admirals and generals. This rapid turnover has shaken confidence in the military’s leadership stability.

Parallel to these removals, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced this week that, on Trump’s orders, 37 current and former intelligence professionals had their security clearances revoked. The move comes atop a sweeping second-term purge that has stripped security access from figures ranging from former President Joe Biden to former Vice President Kamala Harris. Gabbard also unveiled a restructuring plan to downsize her office by over 40% by October 1, claiming $700 million in annual savings.

The firing of Lieutenant General Kruse underscores Trump’s broader approach in his second term—shrinking government, reshaping security institutions, and punishing officials or agencies that contradict his policies or narratives.

While the administration describes the shake-ups as necessary to reduce costs and curb what it calls the “politicisation of intelligence,” critics argue that these actions weaken institutional independence and erode safeguards critical to U.S. national security.

Based On Reuters Report