The removal of Gen. C.Q. Brown and other top officers has deepened concern among Trump’s critics who fear he intends to impose his politics on the institution.

Trump fired the military's most senior officer in a Pentagon purge that removed six senior officials, including the Navy's top officer and key military lawyers.

The Pentagon announced Friday it plans to ultimately fire five to eight percent of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees, with an initial tranche of 5,400 probationary workers who don’t have “mission-critical” roles expected to be terminated next week.

The dismissals will begin next week, officials said, and could expand to include tens of thousands of other workers throughout the Defense Department.