Washington DC [US], August 23 : The Pentagon has dismissed US Air Force Lt Gen. Jeffrey Kruse from the position of the Chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on Friday (local time), the New York Times reported, citing a senior defence official and a US senator.
According to the New York Times, the removal comes weeks after the US defence agency produced a preliminary report that contradicted US President Donald Trump's claim that US strikes in June had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities.
Lt Gen. Kruse is the latest high-ranking official to be removed under the second Trump administration and the second senior military intelligence leader to be ousted.
Earlier this year, Gen. Timothy D Haugh, who led the National Security Agency (NSA), was dismissed following criticism from a prominent right-wing figure, the New York Times reported.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth also fired Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Jamie Sands, who oversaw Naval Special Warfare Command, the New York Times reported, citing a US Department of Defence official. However, the Pentagon have not provided any official explanation for their removals.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, voiced serious concern over Kruse's firing, calling it indicative of the Trump administration's tendency to treat intelligence as a loyalty test.
"The firing of yet another senior national security official underscores the Trump administration's dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country," Warner said, as quoted by the New York Times.
The DIA plays a critical role in gathering military intelligence on foreign forces and informing Pentagon operations. While the Pentagon has not publicly detailed the reason for Kruse's removal, two congressional officials stated lawmakers were told it was due to a "loss of confidence".
After the US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June, the DIA produced an initial assessment suggesting the damage had delayed Iran's nuclear programme by only a few months. The findings, first reported by CNN and The New York Times, sparked backlash from the White House, which had presented the operation as a significant success.
Warner directly tied Kruse's firing to the agency's honest assessment.
"That kind of honest, fact-based analysis is exactly what we should want from our intelligence agencies, regardless of whether it flatters the White House narrative... When expertise is cast aside and intelligence is distorted or silenced, our adversaries gain the upper hand and America is left less safe," he stated, as quoted by the New York Times.
For now, DIA Deputy Director Christine Bordine will serve as acting chief until the Senate confirms a new leader.
After the Iran strike assessment went public, some within the Trump administration began to view Kruse, appointed under President Biden, as politically misaligned.
According to the New York Times, citing officials, there is now a broader push to replace all top military leaders selected during Biden's term.