U.S. Representative Pat Ryan (D-NY), a former U.S. Army intelligence officer who has been a vocal critic of President Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and has asked for Hegseth’s resignation, is being credited by VoteVets with getting the House Armed Services Committee to “unanimously force” Hegseth to explain every senior military firing within five days of its occurrence.
BREAKING: Rep. Pat Ryan just got the House Armed Services Committee UNANIMOUSLY to force Pete Hegseth to explain every senior military firing within the next 5 days. Hegseth has fired 24+ officers without cause or explanation. Even Republicans want answers. pic.twitter.com/i4kazabamX
— VoteVets (@votevets) June 4, 2026
According to the VoteVets report, Hegseth has fired more than two dozen officers including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George without cause or explanation. The left-leaning veterans advocacy group claims, “Even Republicans want answers.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), a retired Navy SEAL who is also a member of the House Committee, replied to VoteVets, “That is a lie” — without elaborating.
But The Hill reported Thursday that Ryan’s provision for the annual National Defense Authorization Act, “which would demand the Pentagon inform Congress why senior military officers were fired or dismissed within five days, was adopted Thursday without objections in a bipartisan voice vote.”
[NOTE: Ryan’s provision was adopted by the House Committee in a bipartisan, unanimous voice vote, meaning there was no formal “nay” vote recorded against it. The provision also mandates a report “that describes the performance concerns, actions, or inactions of that officer that are cause for such removal, transfer, or relief of duty.’’]