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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has terminated the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Getting into it: Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, who had led the DIA since December 2023, was removed from his post without an official explanation beyond a vague “loss of confidence.” Kruse, a 34-year Air Force veteran with a nonpartisan service record, was responsible for overseeing military intelligence collection and analysis for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and US combatant commands worldwide. His dismissal follows a major controversy surrounding a preliminary DIA assessment of US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which concluded that the strikes had only temporarily set back Iran’s nuclear program by one to two months (directly contradicting President Trump’s public claims that the sites had been “obliterated.”)

The leaked assessment, based on limited post-strike intelligence, indicated that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium remained intact and that the regime could restore key aspects of its nuclear program within weeks. The report, which circulated widely in US media, sparked outrage within the White House, with Trump and senior officials accusing the agency of undermining what they described as one of the most successful military operations in recent history. The administration viewed the leak as politically damaging, and figures like special envoy Steve Witkoff went so far as to call the leak “treasonous,” demanding accountability for those involved.

Kruse’s firing drew some criticism from lawmakers, particularly Democrats on intelligence oversight committees. Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the dismissal reflected a “dangerous habit” within the Trump administration of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for national security. Representative Jim Himes echoed those concerns, warning that political interference in intelligence analysis erodes the integrity of the intelligence community and places the nation at risk.

The shake-up also follows an overhaul at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) under DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Earlier this week, Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence professionals at Trump’s direction and announced a 40% personnel reduction by October 1. The restructuring is projected to save over $700 million annually and marks the largest downsizing of the US intelligence community in decades.