Trump submits nomination to replace Mingus as Army Vice Chief of Staff
President Donald Trump nominated Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve on Monday to serve as the next vice chief of staff of the Army and recommended his appointment to the grade of general.
An official hearing date has not been made public, but if confirmed by the Senate, LaNeve will replace Gen. James Mingus, the long-time innovator who was sworn in as the Army’s No. 2 general officer and principal deputy to Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in January 2024 under the Biden administration.
The announcement follows an unusual gathering of hundreds of top U.S. military officials at Marine Corps Base Quantico last month, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that he had already removed several high-ranking service members and suggested that more people would be pushed out if they did not conform to his vision for a “less woke” military that’s “fit not fat.”
There’s not a fixed term or limit to the position of vice chief of staff, and former officials’ tenures in the capacity vary.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from DefenseScoop about the timing for or reasoning behind this nomination, but confirmed LaNeve was selected by the president to serve in the post.
“The Office of the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army will not comment on pending nominations. Gen. Mingus will continue to execute the duties and responsibilities of his position, focusing on warfighting and the wellbeing of our soldiers,” Army Public Affairs Advisor Maj. Peter A. Sulzona told DefenseScoop on Tuesday in response to a separate inquiry with similar questions about the move.
Mingus previously served as a soldier and special operator and has commanded at every echelon, from company to division.
As Army vice, he has been bullish alongside his colleagues about overhauling how the service builds, buys and deploys modern weapons and technology, contributing greatly to the Army Transformation Initiative. He is also considered a key enabler for Next-Generation Command and Control, which broadly refers to the state of the Army’s future network and marks the service’s number one modernization priority.
If LaNeve earns Senate approval, he will likely depart his current role that he assumed in April directly advising Hegseth as a senior military assistant to the secretary. Before that, he served as the commanding general of the Eighth Army in the Republic of Korea and as the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, among other senior positions.
News of LaNeve’s nomination was first reported Tuesday by Breaking Defense.
