A provision passed by a House panel Thursday would require the Pentagon to explain to Congress within five days why senior uniformed military leaders had been dismissed or fired.

The provision, included in the House Armed Services Committee's draft of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, comes after the Department of War fired several top military officials, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, without explanation.

While testifying before Congress, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth would not give a reason for George's firing, saying he refused to do so "out of respect to these officers."

"We don't talk about the nature of that, and we all serve at the pleasure of the president," Hegseth said.

George's firing drew bipartisan condemnation, including from committee member Steve Womack, R-Ark.

"I regret the fact of the conditions that he left the service, and I think that our country will regret that circumstance," Womack said at a hearing following George's ouster.

Others fired under Hegseth include Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown and top officers in the Navy and Coast Guard, along with the leaders of U.S. Southern and Cyber commands.

Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., introduced the requirement for a report "that describes the performance concerns, actions, or inactions of that officer that are cause for such removal, transfer, or relief of duty.''

The provision was approved by the committee with a bipartisan vote. It would have to be passed by both the full House and Senate before President Donald Trump could sign it into law.