Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon: A list of controversies that define his tenure

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is facing increased scrutiny implicit his enactment of the Pentagon, with immoderate of the disapproval coming from wrong his ain party.

On Wednesday, Republican Senator Thom Tillis urged President Donald Trump to regenerate Hegseth, accusing the defence caput of creating a “leadership void” astatine the apical of the US military.

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“I person ne'er witnessed much inept absorption of the brave men and women who service our country,” Tillis said. “He is intimidated by competence.”

Tillis’s comments came aft the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll connected Monday, the latest high-ranking authoritative to permission the Pentagon amid reported tensions with Hegseth.

Driscoll’s departure followed a bid of firings, forced retirements and blocked promotions among elder subject leaders, causing interest astir the stableness of the Pentagon’s leadership.

Hegseth, a erstwhile Fox News big and Army National Guard veteran, was confirmed arsenic defence caput successful January 2025 aft a contentious Senate vote.

Since taking office, helium has pursued an assertive effort to reshape the military, emphasising lethality and what helium calls the “warrior ethos”. But elder officials reason that his attack has produced instability and prioritised taste battles implicit military readiness.

His tenure has besides been plagued by a bid of controversies. Here are immoderate of the notable ones truthful far:

‘Signalgate’

The archetypal large contention of Hegseth’s tenure came successful March 2025, conscionable 2 months aft his appointment.

A subordinate of the Trump medication had inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, successful a backstage chat connected the messaging app Signal, wherever officials were discussing an impending onslaught connected Yemen.

Hegseth featured prominently successful the discussion. His messages included details astir the timing of craft launches and strikes.

But Hegseth insisted that nary “war plans” had been shared crossed the platform. Experts, however, disputed that assertion, noting that details astir an upcoming subject cognition are typically classified.

The subject prohibits the usage of third-party platforms for operational security, and an inspector general’s report aboriginal indicated immoderate leak from the Signal chat could person enactment work members successful harm’s way.

Media reports besides emerged indicating that Hegseth had been progressive successful a second Signal chat with his wife, member and idiosyncratic lawyer that besides included sensitive subject information.

Hegseth faced nary ceremonial punishment for the incidents.

Exodus of personnel

Hegseth’s Pentagon has undergone a sweeping turnover of elder subject and civilian officials.

Shortly aft Hegseth assumed his role, respective apical subject leaders were fired, including Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Coastguard Commandant Linda Fagan and Charles Q Brown, the caput of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Both Fagan and Franchetti were the archetypal women to service successful their roles. In a connection explaining Fagan’s termination, the Trump medication cited “leadership deficiencies” and an “excessive focus” connected diversity.

Other officials person near oregon chosen an aboriginal retirement. They see figures similar Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, who faced disapproval for his information successful the military’s vessel onslaught run successful the Caribbean Sea and eastbound Pacific Ocean nether Hegseth.

The departures person continued into 2026, with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll leaving his station connected Wednesday.

Hegseth has taken the measurement of removing dozens of names from apical subject promotion lists, a uncommon determination for a Pentagon chief.

Normally, candidates are identified by enactment boards successful the assorted branches of the subject to beryllium apical officers. The process is expected to beryllium apolitical.

But Hegseth has reportedly knocked arsenic galore arsenic 80 names disconnected promotion lists for apical subject offices, including those expected to beryllium elevated to one- oregon two-star generals.

Critics person questioned whether Hegseth has the authorization to artifact promotions. Many person besides noted that women and Black officers are disproportionately among those denied top-tier advancement.

Attacks connected property freedom

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has developed an progressively adversarial narration with journalists.

His section has restricted newsman access to the Pentagon property office, and successful September 2025, unveiled a caller argumentation requiring journalists to motion a pledge that would restrict their quality gathering oregon other suffer their media credentials.

That argumentation was blocked successful March, with a territory tribunal ruling it ran afoul of the First Amendment’s escaped code protections.

But further incidents person continued to rise interest astir the property freedoms astatine the Pentagon. Last month, 3 members of the Stars and Stripes paper filed a suit against the Defense Department for censorship, aft they were fired for speaking retired astir editorial independence.

Hegseth, meanwhile, has publically attacked the media, describing immoderate sum arsenic “unpatriotic”.

Warfare strategy of ‘maximum lethality’

Hegseth has made “lethality” a cardinal tenet of the US military, a doctrine that has travel nether scrutiny during overseas subject operations.

He has besides pledged to jettison what helium calls “stupid rules of engagement” that bounds justifiable subject action.

Since September 2, 2025, the US subject has carried retired a bid of vessel strikes successful the Caribbean Sea and eastbound Pacific Ocean, connected the premise of protecting the US from “narco-terrorists”.

But the identities of those killed stay mostly a mystery, and nary nationalist grounds has been presented against them. Legal experts person called the run a bid of extrajudicial killings, with the victims fixed nary accidental to plead their case.

Some families successful Colombia, Trinidad, Ecuador and elsewhere fearfulness those killed are guiltless fishermen. So far, the decease toll from the boat-strike run has reached 227, with the latest strikes taking spot successful August.

In astatine slightest 1 case, Hegseth reportedly ordered a “double-tap” attack to termination the survivors from an archetypal vessel strike.

Hegseth, however, denied acting unlawfully, labelling sum of the “double-tap” arsenic “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting”.

He besides framed the lethal vessel strikes arsenic a corrective to policies nether Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. “Biden coddled terrorists, we termination them,” Hegseth wrote.

Since February, the US has besides been embroiled successful a warfare connected Iran that has raised akin use-of-force concerns. Hegseth has boasted that helium unleashed the US subject to usage “maximum authorities connected the battlefield” against Iran — a connection commonly understood to mean a loosening of the combat rules meant to support civilians.

Those comments person drawn disapproval aft the US Tomahawk missile struck an Iranian elementary school connected the archetypal time of the war, sidesplitting an estimated 170 people, mostly children.

This week, Iranian officials besides accused the US of hitting a civilian wedding successful the metropolis of Kuhestak, sidesplitting astatine slightest 5 radical and wounding much than 60.

Questions astir usage of subject resources

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has requested a grounds $1.5 trillion from Congress for its defence fund successful fiscal twelvemonth 2027. Much of that connection comes successful the signifier of discretionary funding.

The Pentagon has framed the sum arsenic a “generational investment”. But critics person argued that the subject is efficaciously asking for a blank cheque, without accounting for the 42-percent summation successful its budget.

The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a deliberation tank, went truthful acold arsenic to telephone the sum “unhinged”.

Some of that sum is apt aimed astatine helping to offset the costs of the US-Israel warfare connected Iran.

In July, Hegseth testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee that $37.5bn had been spent connected the warfare truthful far. The magnitude is higher than the $25bn estimation the Defense Department gave successful April.

Reports person emerged that US stockpiles of definite munitions are besides low, raising concerns astir the US strategy against Iran and its quality to support against different threats.

Adherence to planetary law

Under Hegseth and Trump, the US subject has embarked connected respective subject campaigns that look to interruption planetary law.

On January 3, for instance, the US subject launched an cognition to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, transporting him to New York to look trial.

While the Trump medication has called the cognition a home instrumentality enforcement action, critics person framed it arsenic a usurpation of a overseas country’s sovereignty.

The US and Israel besides launched the archetypal attacks that kicked disconnected the ongoing warfare connected Iran. While the Trump medication has argued that Iran posed an imminent threat, salient ineligible experts person called the struggle an unprovoked warfare of choice.

As the warfare stretches into its seventh month, Hegseth has faced disapproval for not having a wide exit strategy. The struggle has besides contributed to instability and unit crossed the Middle East, arsenic good arsenic a surge successful lipid prices.

A civilization warfare wrong the military

Hegseth has rejected what helium calls “wokeness” successful the US military.

His tenure has seen a rollback of policies designed, oregon perceived, to beforehand diverseness successful the ranks. Under orders from Trump, helium has besides overseen the expulsion of transgender work members from the military.

Hegseth has besides embraced a instrumentality to much accepted ideas of masculinity. That has included plans for testosterone testing among troops implicit 30 and caller grooming standards nether the slogan “No More Beardos”.

Hegseth has besides drawn scrutiny for blurring the separation of religion and state. He has been known to pb a regular Christian supplication work astatine the Pentagon and has framed immoderate of the military’s actions successful spiritual terms.