Rep. Patrick Ryan, D-N.Y., a former Army intelligence officer, listens to a debate during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Washington. Ryan introduced a provision to the NDAA mandating that the secretary of defense would have five days to explain to Congress why a senior military officer was removed from their position. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The secretary of defense would have five days to explain to Congress why a senior military officer was removed from their position under a provision adopted by the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
The requirement was unanimously added by the panel as it debated the annual National Defense Authorization Act and comes after the controversial firing of several top officers, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April.
Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown, former chief of naval operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and other senior officers have also been dismissed since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term.
George’s dismissal was particularly criticized by Democrats and Republicans. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to provide a rationale for it during an appearance before the committee in April, “out of respect to these officers.”
He later added that “we all serve at the pleasure of the president.”
The adopted provision mandates a report to the panel, as well as its counterpart in the Senate, that describes “the performance concerns, actions, or inactions of that officer that are cause for such removal, transfer, or relief of duty.”
It was introduced by Democrat Pat Ryan of New York, a former Army intelligence officer, and agreed to by voice vote without objections.
The provision’s inclusion in the committee’s draft of the defense policy bill does not guarantee it will be enacted. The language will have to be approved by the full House as well as the Senate before it could be sent to Trump’s desk.
