Hegseth asked top admiral to resign after months of discord

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shocked official Washington in mid-October when he announced that the four-star head of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean was retiring less than a year into his tenure.

But according to two Pentagon officials, Hegseth asked Adm. Alvin Holsey to step down, a de facto ouster that was the culmination of months of discord between Hegseth and the officer. It began days after President Trump’s inauguration in January and intensified months later when Holsey had initial concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to former officials aware of the discussions.

Not long after, Hegseth announced that Holsey would be retiring. Hegseth’s move, which hasn’t been previously reported, sheds new light on a brewing controversy over the legality of the military’s campaign in the Caribbean, and raises questions over whether servicemembers with concerns about the attacks are being listened to. While Hegseth has dismissed a number of high-ranking military leaders since taking over the Pentagon, the ouster of a commander during an unfolding military operation was an extraordinary move, lawmakers and experts note.

“Having [Holsey] leave at this particular moment, at the height of what the Pentagon considers to be the central action in our hemisphere, is just shocking," says Todd Robinson, who served as assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs until January. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment. The admiral, a 60-year-old Navy helicopter pilot nicknamed “Bull," had seemed a good fit to carry out Trump’s military campaign against drug traffickers after the new president came into