Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) said during a hearing on Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent ouster of Gen. Randy George, the U.S. Army's chief of staff, will have a "chilling effect" on the way the armed services operate.
Scott, who praised George as "well respected, well liked by many of us," asked Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve, the acting Army chief of staff, why his predecessor was removed earlier this month.
"That's a question for Secretary Hegseth," LaNeve, who was Hegseth's senior military assistant at the Pentagon last year, said in response. "I've been the vice for a couple of months now. We honored the service of General George and his wife."
"I would like for Secretary Hegseth to answer the reason why they were dismissed. And I think that the way General George and his wife Patty were treated will have a chilling effect on the way our services operate in the future," Scott said during the House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on "Military Readiness for FY27."
When reached for comment, the Pentagon pointed The Hill to department's chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell's statement confirming George's retirement.
"The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement," Parnell wrote on April 2.
George, who spent more than four decades in the Army and is well-respected by his peers, was ousted at Hegseth's direction. Shortly after, some Republicans rallied in support of George, whose exit came as the U.S. was actively striking military targets inside Iran.
A Pentagon official told The Hill on Wednesday that the department has been in touch with Scott's office since George's was removed. The Hill has reached out to Scott's office for comment.
Scott then asked LaNeve if Hegseth removed four senior Army officers - two Black men and two women - from the promotion list for one-star generals.
"I think the list is still moving forward. The process has been followed through. The Army provided the list of the Secretary War's office, and it has gone forward, whether those officers have been split from the list, higher, I'm not sure at this time," the general said.
"This is a team sport. The officer and the spouse are in this together, and I think that General George and his wife Patty were very unfairly treated," Scott said, adding that he would "appreciate" it if Hegseth would be "forthcoming with whether or not four names were removed from the list."
During the hearing, Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) also praised George and his wife for dedicating their lives to "serving our country" and added that Hegseth should not be removing officers from the promotion lists "because their records have been highly vetted, highly scrutinized, and these people are qualified for the jobs."
"We look forward to hearing an explanation from Secretary Hegseth when he meets with the full House Armed Services Committee on April 29," Strickland said.
Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) echoed Scott's comments about George, saying "I've only been on committee 15 months, but he was incredibly forthright and solutions-oriented with this committee."
"I think the committee, Congress and the American people deserve an explanation as to how he was treated," Elfreth said in her opening remarks.