Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the Anitkabir – Atatürk Mausoleum, in Ankara, Türkiye, June 3, 2024. During Franchetti’s visit, she met with Turkish military and government leaders, where she emphasized the value of strong partnership and collaboration between the two navies. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Amanda Gray)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump today announced he was removing Adm. Lisa Franchetti as the chief of naval operations, unceremoniously ending early the tenure of the first woman to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In addition, Trump said he would be replacing Gen. James Slife, the Air Force’s No. 2 officer, as well as replacing the top JAGs for each service.
“I am also requesting nominations for the positions of Chief of Naval Operations and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff. The incumbents in these important roles, Admiral Lisa Franchetti and General James Slife, respectively, have had distinguished careers,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a Friday statement. “We thank them for their service and dedication to our country.”
“We are also requesting nominations for the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy and Air Force,” Hegseth added.
Trump and his supporters, including Hegseth, have repeatedly talked about ridding the military of general officers they deem as “woke.” Franchetti’s firing follows that of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, who Trump removed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff minutes before Hegseth’s announcement.
In January, the administration removed former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan within hours of taking power, citing her focus on DEI, among other things. Vice Chief Adm. Kevin Lunday is serving as the interim commandant.
Tonight’s announcement marks the early end of the first woman to serve as a service chief.
Franchetti, a career surface warfare officer, first ascended to the ranks of the top Pentagon brass in April 2022 when she was tapped to be the Navy’s second most senior officer, the vice chief of naval operations. She held that post until August 2023 when then Adm. Michael Gilday finished his own tenure as CNO and she subsequently became the service’s top officer.
Franchetti was only the second woman to become VCNO, following behind now-retired Adm. Michelle Howard, and subsequently became the first woman to be a member of the joint chiefs. (Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the Coast Guard, became the first woman to lead a branch of the military in June 2022, but that service operates under the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Defense Department.)
When a service chief is removed or unable to do their job, the current vice automatically takes over in the interim, meaning Franchetti’s removal puts VCNO Adm. Jim Kilby in command of the service until a new top Navy officer is nominated and confirmed. The lack of a service chief also puts a strain both on the vice chief and officers down the chain of command, as was on display in 2023 when Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville blockaded the promotions of hundreds of military officers, including top brass.
Slife was tapped for his current role in September 2023, though the nomination was caught in limbo amid a wide-ranging, de facto hold on promotions by Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville. He was eventually confirmed by the Senate and pinned on his fourth star in December of that year.
The ousted general is a special operations pilot by craft. Amassing over 3,100 hours flying aircraft like the legacy MH-53 Pave Low as well as the MQ-1 Predator, he achieved the rating of command pilot, according to his service biography. He earned his commission as an Air Force officer through ROTC at Auburn University in 1989.
Slife previously led Air Force Special Operations Command for over three years. He was elevated to his current role after Gen. David Allvin, who has been the service number two, was named Chief of Staff.
