The senior legal adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief military adviser to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is resigning nearly a year before his term ends, the latest in an exodus of top military leaders and lawyers over the past 18 months.
Brigadier General Eric Widmer told ProPublica that he did not take the decision to retire lightly and that he was retiring for “personal reasons.”
“Earlier this year, my wife and I reflected on the demands of this role, which have required me to live apart from her for the past two years, creating additional challenges for me and my family,” Widmer said in an emailed statement. “After careful consideration, we have decided that it is time to put our family at the center of our lives and begin our next chapter together.”
Widmer’s departure follows that of Gen. Chris “CD” Donahue, commander of the Army in Europe and Africa, earlier this month, about halfway through a typical term. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George was elected in April, about a year and a half short of his usual four-year term. Admiral Alvin Holsey stepped down late last year with two years left in his term as leader of Southern Command, which oversees controversial drone attacks on boats in the Caribbean. Mr. Widmer’s resignation also follows Mr. Hegseth’s firing of top lawyers for the Army, Air Force and Navy last year.
“A person in that position is a rising star,” said one senior official, a military lawyer and former judge who declined to be named for fear of retaliation. “He certainly has a high standing in the legal community and is thoughtful and trusted. It’s a pretty important job.”
Military experts and current and former military officials said Widmar’s early departure from such a vaunted post was a marked departure from military precedent and was particularly troubling as it was part of a pattern under Hegseth of highly respected senior leaders leaving with little explanation. To maintain the military’s commitment to bipartisan professionalism, unified military leadership, particularly legal advisers, typically remains stationed across administrations.
“It’s about centuries of highly paid talent being cashed out without any explanation of why their services are unsustainable,” said Cori Shaikh, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “It creates a climate of command where people are reluctant to take initiative, and that’s why countries lose wars.”
Gen. Dan Cain, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement that Widmer is “deeply respected and admired by all” and thanked him for his “outstanding” accomplishments. “We will miss his attorney, his incredible expertise and experience, and his understanding of our responsibility to always speak truth to power.”
The Pentagon did not respond to Hegseth’s request for comment.
Military experts and current and former senior military officers say the departures raise important questions that Congress should ask of all major leaders leaving office in the current environment.
“What’s surprising is the extent to which Congress has allowed Mr. Hegseth to build up his forces without asking for a clear explanation of what he’s doing,” said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University. He has long taught senior officers the importance of not using retirements or resignations to stir up public opinion.
Widmar, a West Point graduate who advised operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, is retiring after more than 28 years of service. Prior to his most recent role, he served as a staff judge advocate for Central Command supporting U.S. interests throughout the Middle East and Asia.
The Senate confirmed Widmer as general counsel to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2024. In a statement at the time, Lt. Gen. Joseph Berger III, the Army’s top lawyer at the time, praised his “strategic vision and moral courage.”
Mr. Berger was subsequently fired by Mr. Hegseth.
