Pete Hegseth, whose tenure as secretary of defense has been mired in a series of events raising questions about his ability to lead the Department of Defense, defended his performance during an address to the U.S. Army War College on Wednesday.
“From Day One and each 100 of those days, our overriding objectives have been clear: restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence,” he said. “Restoring the warrior ethos is one of the most fundamental of those three.”
Hegseth highlighted the DOD’s outreach to the thousands of service members who were separated from the military over their refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine without an approved exemption, adding, “We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind, and [are] refocusing on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and [readiness].”
A day earlier, Hegseth admitted to using a Signal group chat to communicate “then and now.” However, he has consistently denied sharing classified information in those group chats since last month, when the news of his use of the app first broke.
Hegseth shared details about impending U.S. military operations in Yemen against the Houthis in two different group chats: one that included more than a dozen Cabinet members and the Atlantic editor-in-chief, who was accidentally added, and another that included his wife, brother, personal attorney, and advisers.
Hegseth implied Monday that news of the second group chat was revealed by his recently fired longtime advisers, who were a part of the group chat. While his brother Phil and personal attorney Tim Palatore have roles in the DOD, Hegseth’s wife does not, and her appearances alongside him have raised eyebrows.
. @SecDef "No more social engineering. No more climate change worship. No more electric tanks. No more gender confusion. No more pronouns. No more excuses. No more quotas.
No more WOKE bullsh*t that undermines commanders and command climates. We are laser focused on our mission… pic.twitter.com/02v9OTHDij
— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) April 23, 2025
“Now, as you may have noticed, the media likes to call it chaos. We call it overdue. How are the men and women responding to this call? Well, I can tell you, personally, it’s going better than we could have ever expected,” Hegseth said.
The turmoil in Hegseth’s office resulted in the dismissal of three advisers. His former interim top spokesperson left last week and publicly called him out, while his chief of staff is being reassigned in the building.
Hegseth’s outgoing chief of staff, Joe Kasper, initiated the leak investigation that prompted the firings of senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense. All of them have said they didn’t leak anything to the press.
President Donald Trump and all but one Republican on Capitol Hill have supported Hegseth. During his confirmation process, Hegseth did not receive Democratic support, and many in the party have called for his resignation or dismissal following the Signal group chat incidents.
HEGSETH ACKNOWLEDGES SHARING ‘UNCLASSIFIED’ INFO IN SIGNAL CHATS ‘THEN AND NOW’
Hegseth created the group chat that included his wife prior to his confirmation. Hegseth had one of the rockiest confirmation hearings of any Trump Cabinet selection due to concerns over his lack of experience leading a large organization, as well as questions about his alcohol consumption and a disputed sexual encounter that was investigated by police and did not result in any charges.
The Office of the Inspector General is evaluating Hegseth’s use of Signal, which is not approved for sharing classified information between government officials.
