Nomination and confirmation On November 12, 2024, President-elect
Donald Trump named Hegseth as his nominee for
secretary of defense, after
Arkansas senator
Tom Cotton announced he would not serve as secretary. Hegseth subsequently ended his contract with
Fox News.
The Washington Post reported that senior officials on the team were surprised by the allegation and reconsidered his nomination. Despite the allegation, Trump defended Hegseth and several Republican senators indicated that they would support him. His nomination was threatened by an article from
Jane Mayer in
The New Yorker detailing alleged financial mismanagement and alcohol issues while leading his veterans' groups,
The New York Times reported in December that Trump had begun to consider
Florida governor Ron DeSantis as an alternative. In an effort to retain his nomination amid controversies, Hegseth began a campaign that month. Advisors to Trump privately sought to persuade him to support Hegseth in fear that it would embolden recalcitrant Republican senators, while he could not garner support for DeSantis, according to
The New York Times. In addition, the
Times reported that Vice President-elect
JD Vance had led a group of Republicans, including
Donald Trump Jr., former Trump aide
Steve Bannon, political activist
Charlie Kirk, and
Breitbart News reporter Matt Boyle. Trump allies took a direct approach to addressing the controversies, including an interview with
Megyn Kelly that impressed Trump. Hegseth appeared at the
United States Capitol; Trump publicly reaffirmed his support for Hegseth afterwards. The visit gave
Iowa senator
Joni Ernst, who had threatened his nomination, a positive impression of Hegseth. Hegseth appeared before the
Senate Committee on Armed Services on January 14. He positioned himself as a "warrior" while denying the allegations and his previous claims that women should not serve in combat roles. Hegseth was criticized by
Democrats over allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and alcohol issues.
Rhode Island senator
Jack Reed, the committee's ranking member, noted that Hegseth had used the term "
jagoff" in his book
The War on Warriors (2024) to derogatorily refer to a
Judge Advocate General officer who reprimanded him on the use of
rocket-propelled grenades. He did not answer a question from
Virginia senator
Tim Kaine on whether or not sexual assault, drinking, or infidelity were disqualifying. The Committee on Armed Services voted to advance his nomination 14–13 along party lines on January 20, after Trump was
inaugurated. Hegseth's former sister-in-law, Danielle, sent an affidavit to senators alleging that he was abusive to his second wife, Samantha, and that he had issues with over-consumption of alcohol. Hegseth denied having a drinking problem and pledged not to drink if confirmed. On January 24, Hegseth was confirmed by the
Senate in a 51–50 vote. Every
Republican senator, with the exception of
Susan Collins,
Lisa Murkowski, and
Mitch McConnell, voted to confirm him, while every Democratic senator opposed his nomination, leading to a 50–50 vote. Vance cast a
tie-breaking vote to confirm Hegseth. His confirmation was threatened by Senator
Thom Tillis, who told Senate majority leader
John Thune the day before that he would not vote for Hegseth on the basis of his sexual assault allegations. Persuaded by Vance, Tillis expressed support for Hegseth on
X minutes before the vote. His confirmation was the second in US history to be decided by a vice president, after
Betsy DeVos's confirmation for
secretary of education in 2017. Vance swore Hegseth in as secretary of defense on January 25. Hegseth identified several priorities for the Department of Defense, including to "revive the warrior ethos", restore trust in the military, redevelop the nation's industrial base, ease the department's process to purchase weaponry, defend the US domestically, engage with
Indo-Pacific to deter
China, and support Trump's effort to "end wars responsibly"—including the
Russo-Ukrainian War and the
Middle Eastern crisis.
Initial actions in March 2025. In a call to
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day after being sworn in, Hegseth said that the United States was "fully committed" to the security of
Israel. Hegseth revoked the security clearance and detail of
Mark Milley, the former
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
chief of staff of the Army who later became a critic of Trump, and ordered an inspector general inquiry into Milley's tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the
inspector general of the Department of Defense,
Robert Storch, was removed from his position when Trump
dismissed several inspectors general. According to
The Washington Post, the
Department of Defense Education Activity began removing certain books on immigration and sexuality. Hegseth visited the
Mexico–United States border with
Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, in
El Paso, Texas, in February, where he stated that the federal government intended to gain complete "operational control of the southern border". He renamed Fort Liberty to
Fort Bragg, its
original name honoring the Confederate general
Braxton Bragg. The military base was now ostensibly renamed for
Roland L. Bragg, a previously obscure soldier who served in World War II. In a meeting before the
Ukraine Defense Contact Group at
NATO headquarters, he opposed
NATO membership for
Ukraine and said that returning Ukraine's borders prior to the
annexation of Crimea by Russia was "unrealistic". The Department of Defense invited
Jack Posobiec, an
alt-right political activist to accompany Hegseth, according to
The Washington Post. Hegseth moderated his comments the following day, stating that it would be possible for Ukraine to
join NATO given Trump's discretion. Secretary General
Mark Rutte at the Pentagon, April 24, 2025 In February 2025, Hegseth ordered officials within the Department of Defense to reduce funding on most initiatives and began a purge from within the department, firing three top
judge advocate generals and
Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations. Hegseth stated that "we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice" rather than "roadblocks to anything". In March, he ordered
US Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against
Russia, in an apparent effort to encourage Russian president
Vladimir Putin to
negotiate an end to the
Russo-Ukrainian War. Also that month, the Defense Department canceled 91 of its research studies, including those on climate change impacts and social trends, while Hegseth later stated that the Defense Department "does not do climate change crap." Separately, the
Trump administration instructed Hegseth to "immediately" present "credible military options to ensure fair and unfettered US military and commercial access to the
Panama Canal". on June 6, 2025 In April 2025, Hegseth issued a directive to the
secretary of the Army ordering on a sweeping overhaul, prioritizing defending the homeland and deterring
China in the
Indo-Pacific. Among others, the directive instructing a consolidated budget lines in unmanned systems, counter-drone systems and electronic warfare, force structure changes and expanded use of other transaction agreements. The directive also instructed to downsize or close redundant headquarters as well as merging
Army Futures Command and
Training and Doctrine Command, and merging four-star headquarters
Army Forces Command with
Army North and
Army South into a single headquarters focused on homeland defense as well as the elimination of at least 20% of four-star general positions to enhance efficiency and operational effectiveness. Hegseth also signed a memorandum to reduce the Department of Defense's civilian workforce, aiming to eliminate duplicative efforts and excessive bureaucracy. The initiative includes offering voluntary early retirement and deferred resignation programs to incentivize top performers and enhance efficiency. Hegseth defended the
domestic military deployments by the second Trump administration. In September 2025, Hegseth gathered the Department of Defense's senior military leaders to
Quantico, Virginia, for an address calling for tighter fitness standards and opposition to "woke garbage". The event featured Trump. On November 24, 2025, Hegseth ordered a review of "serious allegations of misconduct" against Senator Kelly, with the explicit mention of potential "recall to active duty for court-martial procedures or administrative measures". Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was then tasked with this review and ordered to complete it by December 10, 2025. On January 5, 2026, Hegseth issued a Secretarial Letter of Censure against Senator Kelly in his capacity as a retired Navy Captain, without the right to appeal. On the same day, Senator Kelly was notified by the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel that Retirement Grade Determination Proceedings would be started based on Hegseth's aforementioned Letter of Censure. A federal judge subsequently issued a temporary injunction against Hegseth's proposed actions on Kelly's rank and pension based on the significant merits and very high likelihood of success of Kelly's appeal to protection of free speech under the First Amendment. In December 2025, Hegseth proposed merging the
Northern and
Southern Commands into an "Americas" Command, and the
European,
Central, and
Africa Commands into an International Command.
Second year Reportedly, of about three dozen officer on a promotion list, most of whom are white men, Hegseth blocked the promotion of two women and two Black officers. According to
The New York Times, "It is exceedingly rare that a one-star list draws such intense scrutiny from a defense secretary." In early 2026, reports emerged of the dismissal or retirement of several senior military commanders amid rising military tensions between the United States and Iran and broader instability in the Middle East. These developments were described as part of a broader shift in Pentagon leadership, with multiple senior officers reportedly stepping down or being removed from their positions. Media outlets reported concerns regarding internal disagreements within the defense establishment and the potential impact on the stability and operational readiness of the military command structure. Some reactions criticized the rationale for the reductions, with concerns that the large-scale removal of senior officers without clear justification could affect military readiness.
Information disclosures and use of Signal In March 2025,
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of
The Atlantic,
reported that he had been accidentally included by
Mike Waltz in a
Signal group chat where Hegseth shared information about
attacks in Yemen hours before they occurred. The discussions involved US officials, including Vance and secretary of state
Marco Rubio. According to
The New York Times, several officials with the Department of Defense expressed shock at the incident, while various former national security officials noted the potential for espionage amid
ongoing efforts by
China to obtain telecommunications records. A spokesperson for the
National Security Council confirmed Goldberg's report and the authenticity of the messages. Hegseth rejected that war plans were shared and called Goldberg "deceitful" and a "discredited so-called journalist". Director of National Intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard said no classified information was shared and CIA director
John Ratcliffe said Signal was authorized for the group chat. The incident distressed Hegseth, who threatened to use a
polygraph on
Christopher W. Grady, the acting
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Goldberg later published most of the Signal chat. The chat showed that Hegseth posted information including the launch times of
F-18 aircraft,
MQ-9 drones and
Tomahawk missiles, as well as the time when the F-18 aircraft would reach their targets, and the time when the bombs would land. Hegseth commented on the chat, writing that there were: "No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information". The incident led to criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. After the Signal leak, media outlet
Der Spiegel searched the Internet using a commercial information provider and password leaks, which revealed Hegseth's personal mobile number, personal email address and its password, and
WhatsApp account. in
the Pentagon in March 2025
The Wall Street Journal reported that Hegseth had brought his wife to two meetings with foreign defense officials in which sensitive information was discussed, one meeting in February, at
Brussels, with NATO officials, and the other in March, at the Pentagon, with British Defense Secretary
John Healey. In April, the
Department of Defense Office of Inspector General announced an inquiry into Hegseth's disclosure of classified information in the Signal chat. That month,
The New York Times reported that Hegseth had shared details on the attack in a second Signal chat with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. At the White House Easter Egg Roll, Hegseth suggested that the revelations were a coordinated smear campaign. John Ullyot, the former spokesman for the Department of Defense, wrote in a
Politico Magazine opinion piece hours later that the department was in a "full-blown meltdown" and warned that Hegseth was at risk of losing his position. According to
NPR, the White House began looking for a secretary of defense to replace Hegseth the following day. Nonetheless, he retained support from Trump, who privately did not seek to relitigate a grueling Senate confirmation, enjoyed Hegseth's presence and appearance on television, and believed that firing him would lead to questions over Waltz's retention, while he publicly associated the controversy to "disgruntled employees" and boasted of Hegseth's work.
Karoline Leavitt, the
White House press secretary, stated that "the entire Pentagon is working against" Hegseth. Representative
Don Bacon became the first Republican House member to urge that Hegseth be fired. at the Pentagon, February 24, 2025 According to
The Washington Post, Hegseth had Signal installed on his computer to circumvent cellular communication issues and to more easily communicate with other Trump officials.
CNN later reported that Ricky Buria, a former aide to secretary of defense
Lloyd Austin, had set up Signal on Hegseth's computer. According to the Associated Press, the computer was on an unsecured
internet line that was not using one of the Department of Defense's
IP addresses. At least five political appointees within the Department of Defense resigned by April 24. The firings and resignations led to a crisis within the Department of Defense that was described as a "free-for-all" by one employee who spoke to
Politico. Hegseth received criticism from
Senate Democrats over alleged civilian deaths in the Yemen strikes. In the same month,
Sean Parnell, Justin Fulcher, Patrick Weaver, and Ricky Buria were announced as new senior advisers.
Changes to press policies In October 2025, Hegseth implemented a new
Pentagon press policy requiring journalists to pledge not to solicit or use unauthorized material, including unclassified information, or risk losing access to the building. The policy, which critics argued posed a threat to press freedom and First Amendment protections, was widely rejected by the media. Nearly all major US news organizations, including
ABC,
CNN,
Fox News,
The New York Times, and
The Washington Post, refused to sign the agreement, citing concerns over press restrictions and government transparency. The only outlet to comply with the policy was
One America News Network. In March 2026, the Pentagon, reportedly at the behest of Hegseth began banning photographers from press briefings due to "unflattering" photos of the secretary. The Pentagon responded, "In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet,” according to Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson. “Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use. If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential." Several news outlets reported that Pentagon staffers said Hegseth did not like some of the photos that had been published.
Caribbean boat strikes On November 28, 2025,
The Washington Post published an article alleging Hegseth had given a spoken order to kill the survivors of a September 2, 2025, strike led by SEAL Team 6 on a boat suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea. The operation was overseen by Admiral
Frank M. "Mitch" Bradley, from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Bradley described the survivors as legitimate targets, as they could theoretically have contacted other traffickers to rescue them and their cargo, and subsequently ordered the second strike to complete Hegseth's order that everyone must be killed. The
Office of Legal Counsel eventually argued that the strike was legal because its goal was to destroy the boat, not to kill the crew, reflecting a secret legal memo endorsing such strikes; the memo has been "fiercely criticized" by legal experts. The strike was the first in a series of strikes against suspected drug traffickers. The alleged orders were condemned by members of congress, including Representative
Seth Moulton, who said "Mark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder." Representative
Mike Turner stated that "Obviously if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act." Hegseth subsequently defended his actions, writing on X that "As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland."
Pentagon Christian worship services and "biblically sanctioned war" In May 2025, Secretary Hegseth began holding monthly worship services during business hours at the Pentagon, and in February 2026 the Department of Defense began sending out invitations to defense contractors. Several stated that they feel that the services give Christians an advantage of "face time" with Pentagon officials that Jewish, Muslim or other non-Christians would not be given unless they attended the services, which they believe to be discriminatory. Service members have also reported complaints to the
Military Religious Freedom Foundation about the services, Wilson has stated that homosexuality should be a crime and that women shouldn't be able to vote. and that President Donald Trump was anointed by Jesus. One commander reportedly quoted the Book of Revelation and said the war will bring the second coming of Jesus Christ. The
Military Religious Freedom Foundation received more than 200 complaints from 50 military installations, and said that such statements are a violation of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and reflect Secretary Hegseth's leadership. The members included Rep.
Chrissy Houlahan D-PA, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel. A letter they sent to the military Inspector General stated, “If accurate, these outrageous statements—justifying a war based on interpretations of biblical prophecies, and informing troops that they are risking their lives to advance a specific religious vision—raises not only glaring Constitutional concerns, but potential violations of Department of Defense regulations regarding religious neutrality and breaches of professional obligations and standards expected of military leadership.” An email sent by Air Force leaders stated, "Just a friendly reminder: There will be a Protestant Service (No Catholic Mass) for Good Friday today at the Pentagon Chapel." At least one employee stated that they felt Catholics were not welcome. A 40-year Pentagon employee stated that this is the first time that a Catholic Good Friday service was not offered at the Pentagon Chapel. On April 15, 2026, Secretary Hegseth quoted a prayer based on lines from the 1994 film
Pulp Fiction, part of which is from
Ezekiel 25:17, during a Pentagon prayer session led by the secretary. The prayer had reportedly been used by the search and rescue team that saved
two downed airmen in Iran earlier in April. He also threatened to cut all support from the Department of Defense to
Scouting America. The proposal in the draft memo would eliminate support to the
National Jamboree as well as ban military bases from hosting or sponsoring scout units. Military families and retired military have criticized the possible actions by Hegseth, stating it will harm military dependent children who depend on the organization as a stabilizing force. Other critics stated that this proposal would harm the military, as 20 percent of military academy students are former scouts and a number of scouts go directly into the military due to the partnership. Navy Secretary
John Phelan wrote a memo of his own, stating, "Passive support to Scouting America through access to military installations and educational opportunities aboard said installations serve as a crucial recruiting and community engagement tool for the [Navy]". will create a military service merit badge and waive registration fees for dependent children of active duty military, National Guard and reserve families. Additionally, they agreed to only use the designations male and female on applications.
Removal of Anthropic AI The Defense Secretary threatened
Anthropic, the owner of
Claude AI (the only AI authorized by the Department of Defense in early 2026), to designate the company a supply chain risk and force the company to eliminate its restrictions on the use of its AI by the Defense Department or he will use the
Defense Production Act to compel them. The Defense Department gave Anthropic a deadline of February 27, 2026. The contract Sec. Hegseth wanted to cancel was worth $200 million. A senior defense official stated that the company will "pay a price for forcing our hand like this." Anthropic stated that they wanted assurances that the DoD would not use their AI tools to spy on Americans or develop weapons that could fire without human involvement. In May 2026, the Defense Department announced AI use deals with
SpaceX,
OpenAI, Google,
NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft and
Amazon Web Services. On February 27, 2026, Hegseth used the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk and excluded it from all federal contracts. President Trump also stated that every federal agency must stop using Anthropic's AI technology.
ChatGPT signed a deal with the Defense Department the same day but their CEO
Sam Altman said, "the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals." On March 6, 2026, Anthropic's CEO
Dario Amodei stated that his company will challenge the DoD in court. Anthropic's partners, including Microsoft, Amazon and Google stated their agreement with Amodei. On March 8, 2026,
OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT) announced that their head of robotics,
Caitlin Kalinowski, had resigned stating, "surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got."
Use of unmarked aircraft Sec. Hegseth was asked in January 2026 about a U.S. military plane that attacked a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. The plane was not marked as a U.S. military plane and carried the armaments inside the plane, according to reports. Using unmarked aircraft in military attacks is against Defense Department policy. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson did not deny the reports, simply stating, “the U.S. military utilizes a wide array of standard and nonstandard aircraft depending on mission requirements.”
Elimination of graduate tuition assistance to selected schools In February 2026, Sec. Hegseth announced that the Defense Department would eliminate all graduate-level professional military training, fellowships and certificate programs at Harvard University starting in the fall of 2026 because of the institution's "anti-military bias." In the memo issued by the DoD, Hegseth also said the department would investigate other universities. The memo listed 33 colleges and universities including Princeton, Duke, Columbia, and Carnegie Mellon. The Pentagon stated that service members could gain the same experience from the war colleges, military academies and public universities at lower cost. Opponents say that this could hurt readiness and retention as mid-career officers see the programs as a benefit that can help them in their post-military careers. Georgetown law professor
Rosa Brooks stated, "Cutting off their access to the best universities in the country is just plain dumb, and suggests Hegseth thinks officers can't be trusted to bring any critical thinking to their classes and academic work, distinguishing between opinion and fact." On March 2, 2026, the Pentagon released a list of 20 partner institutions that Hegseth says are examples of "intellectual freedom, minimal relationships with adversaries, minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department, and Graduate-level National Security, International Affairs, and/or Public Policy Programs". The list included mainly public and a few private universities in Republican leaning states such as
The Citadel,
Iowa State University,
Clemson University,
University of Florida,
Auburn University,
Baylor University and
Liberty University. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA case officer, criticized the DoD saying the policy shows "lack of understanding of the real strength of universities, whether it’s
William & Mary or others, in educating the next generation of military leadership." Spanberger noted the chancellor of William & Mary is former Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates. In March 2026, Harvard University announced that it would allow active-duty military to defer their admission to the university for up to four years. Students can normally only defer for one year.
Allowing military personnel to carry firearms on base On April 2, 2026, Sec. Hegseth signed a memo allowing military personnel to carry personal firearms on military installations such as forts, camps, bases, naval yards and recruitment centers. His stated purpose was to allow personnel to defend themselves in the event of an attack and to support their
second amendment rights. Supporters of the new policy, such as the family of slain
Fort Hood specialist
Vanessa Guillen have applauded it saying it would save lives. Others are concerned as to how the new policy will work in practice due to state firearm laws and emergency response to active attacks. == Operation Epic Fury ==