President Donald Trump nominated a new general to take over the role of the second-highest-ranking military leader in the Army, a move that would replace a four-star that has spent less than two years in the job.
Trump nominated Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army on Monday, according to a notification to Congress. LaNeve currently serves as a senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
If approved by the Senate, he would replace Gen. James Mingus, who has been serving as the Army’s number two since January 2024.
A spokesperson for the vice chief declined to comment on why Mingus was being replaced and what his next assignment would be. A spokesperson for the Defense Department said they did not have any additional information, but to expect a statement on the nomination soon, given the press interest. It is unclear when Congress will hold LaNeve’s nomination hearing.
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“The Office of the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army will not comment on pending nominations,” Maj. Peter Sulzona, a spokesperson for the office, told Task & Purpose in a statement on Tuesday. “[Gen.] Mingus will continue to execute the duties [and] responsibilities of his position, focusing on warfighting and the wellbeing of our soldiers.”
Mingus previously served as the director of operations and director of the Joint Staff starting in 2020. He commanded the 82nd Airborne Division between 2018 and 2020. Breaking Defense, which first reported the nomination, noted that he helped usher in the Army’s sprawling organizational restructuring known as the Army Transformation Initiative.
The Washington Post reported in April that Mingus was in the running to head U.S. Central Command, but Hegseth chose Vice Adm. Brad Cooper instead.
Alex Wagner, a former chief of staff for the Army secretary, said the term for the vice chief of staff is typically four years. Some have served far shorter periods, often going on to higher positions, such as Gen. Randy George, the current Army chief of staff.
Previously, general officers in the vice chief of staff position have retired, moved into combatant command positions, or, usually, it’s a “stepping stone” to the Army chief of staff role, he said.
Wagner, who served as the Army secretary’s chief of staff between 2015 and 2017, said it would be “unprecedented” to fire a vice chief, but it’s also unprecedented to fire a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and chief of naval operations without cause, so “at some point it’s just a new precedent.”
“There is extensive succession planning in general officer management. Extensive succession planning. People are moved in and out of jobs in order to get them the right nature of experience to ensure that they have both the breadth and depth and qualifications to serve in a future role,” Wagner said. “This is kind of an upheaval of extensive iteration of general officer management.”
LaNeve’s nomination, and the possible replacement of Mingus, comes after a series of shakeups in top military roles since Trump took office. For example, Hegseth announced last week that Adm. Alvin Holsey would be retiring after having served less than two years as the head of U.S. Southern Command — the entity in charge of an increasing number of military strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea.
About a dozen top military leaders have been fired or departed their posts early since January.
LaNeve served as the commanding general of the Eighth Army in Korea before being tapped as Hegseth’s senior military assistant in April. He also served as commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in 2022.
