All articles tagged with #pete hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told West Point cadets in a commencement address that the White House would back their toughest decisions, urged them to prioritize lethality over likability and to ignore past rules of engagement, praised their fitness by saying 'you are fit, not fat,' and floated pardons for minor infractions.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned for Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s GOP primary against Rep. Thomas Massie, a Trump target in a high-profile race. Hegseth’s remarks while on official duty drew scrutiny over Hatch Act concerns, though the Pentagon said no law was violated. The race features massive outside spend—over $32 million overall—with Trump allies backing Gallrein and Massie retaining significant conservative support; polling shows a tight contest as the primary nears.
Colin Jost revealed on The Tonight Show that SNL writers rejected his pitch to have Pete Hegseth read a Tarantino-inspired Bible verse from Pulp Fiction, a gag he says foreshadowed the real moment two weeks later when Hegseth delivered an altered Ezekiel 25:17 prayer at a Pentagon service.
A Pentagon Inspector General report says funding and staffing cuts to civilian harm mitigation under War Secretary Pete Hegseth crippled the DoD’s ability to implement the 2022 CHMR-AP by FY2025, with 11 objectives and 133 implementing actions incomplete and the data-management platform discontinued, raising civilian-protection and readiness risks and drawing charges that the review whitewashes the program’s dismantling.
Colin Jost revealed on The Tonight Show that SNL writers once pitched a cold open about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quoting an Ezekiel verse in a nod to Pulp Fiction, but the gag was scrapped as too ridiculous; two weeks later, Hegseth did something very similar in real life by delivering a Pentagon prayer that echoed Samuel L. Jackson's Pulp Fiction monologue.
Pete Hegseth’s last-minute order to halt a 4,000-strong rotation to Poland—troops already arriving—caught Pentagon staff and European allies off guard, signaling a broader rethink of U.S. force posture in Europe and raising concerns about Russia deterrence; the move follows a separate plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Germany and drew mixed reactions from Poland and NATO.
Pete Hegseth will headline Rededicate 250, a faith-focused event on the National Mall run by a private foundation tied to the White House’s semiquincentennial efforts and Freedom 250. The lineup includes speakers critics label as Christian nationalist or extremist and is noted for lacks representation from Muslims, Black churches, Indigenous leaders, or mainline Protestants. The event underscores ongoing ties between Trump-era religious liberty initiatives, Christian nationalist networks, and investigations into the Freedom 250 funding and access. notable names include Jentezen Franklin, Meir Soloveichik, and others with affiliations to Trump’s religious liberty commission.
Fox contributor Pete Hegseth says Senator Mark Kelly will face a Department of War legal review for comments about a classified Pentagon briefing on the Iran war, after Kelly discussed stockpile depletion and criticized the administration; Kelly’s remarks during a Face the Nation interview prompted the clash, with Hegseth previously calling Kelly’s actions 'seditious' in other disputes.
Saturday Night Live's May 9 cold open features Pete Hegseth, Brett Kavanaugh (as Matt Damon), and Kash Patel joking in a D.C. bar about the Iran War and politics, mixing bar banter with mock authority and ending on a cheeky nod to a potential third term, highlighting political satire in an entertainment context.
An federal appeals court panel signaled it would not side with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his bid to censure and demote Sen. Mark Kelly over a November video in which Kelly urged service members to refuse illegal orders, effectively upholding the lower court’s blocking ruling and underscoring that Kelly did not say the words Hegseth claimed.
A federal appeals court panel signals it will likely reject Pentagon plans to punish Sen. Mark Kelly for advising troops to disobey unlawful orders, keeping the high-profile dispute alive and potentially sending the case to the Supreme Court. The drama has elevated Kelly’s national standing as a Democratic critic of the Trump administration and fueled fundraising (more than $25 million in six months), while fueling speculation he could seriously pursue a 2028 presidential bid.
Rolling Stone contributor Mac William Bishop argues that Pete Hegseth’s claim that critics of Trump’s Iran policy are spreading ‘fake news’ rests on optimistic kill-count rhetoric rather than a coherent strategy. The piece contends that despite numerous strikes, Iran’s nuclear program persists, ceasefire talks stall, and the U.S. faces a widening, aimless conflict that requires diplomacy and a real plan—not battlefield spin or partisan sparring.
In SNL's political cold open, Aziz Ansari parodies Kash Patel (with Pete Hegseth) as they deliver satirical jabs about the Trump era, including a mock White House briefing with Karoline Leavitt.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly emboldened after ousting senior Pentagon leaders and moving to consolidate control, with Navy Secretary John Phelan and Army Chief Gen. Randy George removed, per The Washington Post; White House support follows as Hegseth defends his personnel decisions during hours of congressional questioning, sparking talk that he is centralizing power in a sweeping military overhaul.
Dan Bongino endorses Pete Hegseth for a potential 2028 run, praising unseen Pentagon changes and boosting his status as a GOP contender, even as Hegseth faces scrutiny over his Iran-war remarks, a fiery exchange with Elizabeth Warren, and insider-trading questions during hearings.