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

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is facing rose scrutiny over his leadership of the Pentagon, with some of the criticism coming from within his own party.

Key points

• Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, was confirmed as defence secretary in January 2025 after a contentious Senate vote.
• The departures have continued into 2026, with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll leaving his post on Wednesday.
• Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has requested a record $1.5 trillion from Congress for its defence budget in fiscal year 2027.
• The first major controversy of Hegseth's tenure came in March 2025, just two months after his appointment.
• That policy was blocked in March, with a district court ruling it ran afoul of the First Amendment's free speech protections.

On Wednesday, Republican Senator Thom Tillis pressed President Donald Trump to replace Hegseth, accusing the defence secretary of creating a "leadership void" at the top of the US military.

"I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country, " Tillis remarked. "He is intimidated by competence."

Tillis's comments came after the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Monday, the latest high-ranking official to leave the Pentagon against the backdrop of noted tensions with Hegseth.

Driscoll's departure followed a series of firings, forced retirements and blocked promotions among senior military leaders, causing concern regarding the stability of the Pentagon's leadership.

Since taking office, he has pursued an aggressive effort to reshape the military, emphasising lethality and what he calls the "warrior ethos". But senior authorities argue that his approach has produced instability and prioritised cultural battles over military readiness.

His tenure has additionally been plagued by a series of controversies. Here are some of the notable ones so far.

For context, the first major controversy of Hegseth's tenure came in March 2025, just two months after his appointment.

For context, a member of the Trump administration had inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, in a private chat on the messaging app Signal, where authorities were discussing an impending attack on Yemen.

Hegseth featured prominently in the discussion. His messages included details regarding the timing of aircraft launches and strikes.

But Hegseth insisted that no "war plans" had been shared throughout the platform. Experts, nevertheless, disputed that assertion, noting that details concerning an upcoming military operation are typically classified.

Meanwhile, the military prohibits the employ of third-party platforms for operational security, and an inspector general's report afterwards indicated any leak from the Signal chat could have put service members in harm's way.

Media reports additionally emerged indicating that Hegseth had been involved in a second Signal chat with his wife, brother and personal lawyer that additionally included sensitive military information. Hegseth faced no formal punishment for the incidents.

Hegseth's Pentagon has undergone a sweeping turnover of senior military and civilian authorities.

Shortly after Hegseth assumed his role, a number of top military leaders were fired, including Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Coastguard Commandant Linda Fagan and Charles Q Brown, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Both Fagan and Franchetti were the first women to serve in their roles. In an official note explaining Fagan's termination, the Trump administration cited "leadership deficiencies" and an "excessive focus" on diversity.

Other authorities have left or chosen an early retirement. They include figures like Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey. This person faced criticism for his participation in the military's boat strike campaign in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean under Hegseth.

Meanwhile, the departures have continued into 2026, with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll leaving his post on Wednesday.

Hegseth has taken the step of removing dozens of names from top military promotion lists, a rare move for a Pentagon chief.

Normally, candidates are identified by selection boards in the various branches of the military to be top officers. The process is supposed to be apolitical.

But Hegseth has reportedly knocked as plenty of as 80 names off promotion lists for top military offices, including those anticipated to be elevated to one- or two-star generals.

Critics have questioned whether Hegseth has the authority to block promotions. According to Plenty of have additionally, women and Black officers are disproportionately among those denied top-tier advancement. Attacks on press freedom.

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has developed an increasingly adversarial relationship with journalists.

His department has restricted reporter access to the Pentagon press office, and in September 2025, unveiled a new policy requiring journalists to sign a pledge that would restrict their news gathering or else lose their media credentials.

But further incidents have continued to raise concern regarding the press freedoms at the Pentagon. After they were fired for speaking out regarding editorial independence, last month, three members of the Stars and Stripes newspaper filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department for censorship.

Hegseth, meanwhile, has publicly attacked the media, describing some coverage as "unpatriotic". Warfare strategy of 'maximum lethality'.

Hegseth has created "lethality" a central tenet of the US military, a philosophy that has come under scrutiny during overseas military operations.

He has additionally pledged to jettison what he calls "stupid rules of engagement" that limit justifiable military action.

Since September 2, 2025, the US military has carried out a series of boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, on the premise of protecting the US from "narco-terrorists".

But the identities of those killed remain largely a mystery, and no public evidence has been presented against them. Legal experts have called the campaign a series of extrajudicial killings, with the victims given no opportunity to plead their case.

Some families in Colombia, Trinidad, Ecuador and elsewhere fear those killed are innocent fishermen. So far, the death toll from the boat-strike campaign has reached 227, with the latest strikes taking place in August.

In at least one case, Hegseth reportedly ordered a "double-tap" attack to kill the survivors from an initial boat strike.

Hegseth, nevertheless, denied acting unlawfully, labelling coverage of the "double-tap" as "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting".

He additionally framed the lethal boat strikes as a corrective to policies under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. "Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them, " Hegseth wrote.

Since February, the US has additionally been embroiled in a war on Iran that has raised similar use-of-force worries. Hegseth has boasted that he unleashed the US military to employ "maximum authorities on the battlefield" against Iran – a statement commonly understood to mean a loosening of the combat rules meant to protect civilians.

Those comments have drawn criticism after the US Tomahawk missile struck an Iranian elementary school on the first day of the war, killing an estimated 170 individuals, mostly children.

This week, Iranian authorities additionally accused the US of hitting a civilian wedding in the city of Kuhestak, killing at least five individuals and wounding more than 60. Questions regarding apply of military resources.

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has requested a record $1.5 trillion from Congress for its defence budget in fiscal year 2027. Much of that proposal comes in the form of discretionary funding.

In short, pete Hegseth's Pentagon: A list of controversies that define his tenure is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.