Nomination and hearing
In 2024 Trump won a second presidential term, and he selected Hegseth as his nominee for defense secretary; the post requires Senate confirmation. The selection proved controversial, many citing Hegseth’s lack of experience managing large, complex organizations. The Department of Defense (DOD) has some three million employees and has been called the biggest government bureaucracy in the world.
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Hegseth’s confirmation hearing was held by the Senate Armed Services Committee in January 2025, and it was highly contentious at times. Democrats questioned him about accusations of personal misconduct, including excessive drinking and infidelity. While denying some allegations, Hegseth stated “I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real. I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully I’m redeemed by my lord and savior Jesus.” Other topics included women serving in combat. While Hegseth had previously spoken out against the policy, he said that “women will have access to ground combat roles.” Republican committee members largely expressed support for his nomination, and Sen. Eric Schmitt from Missouri suggested that his lack of experience was an asset, stating that Hegseth is “a breath of fresh air.”
Confirmation and early tenure, including Signal controversy
In the Senate confirmation vote on January 25, 2025, three Republicans voted not to approve him: Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski. That resulted in a 50–50 tie, which was broken by Vice Pres. J.D. Vance. Hegseth took office several hours after the vote. In the following days he stated that he would end DEI initiatives in the department and that he was committed to stopping immigration at the southern border. In February 2025 Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to cut the defense budget by 8 percent for each of the next five years. The money was to be used for other initiatives, including a proposed Iron Dome, an air defense system. Later that month he fired a number of top military officers, including Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as the navy’s chief of naval operations. According to Hegseth, the moves were to allow for “new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”
In March 2025 it was alleged that Hegseth had shared plans of impeding military strikes on Yemen in a Signal group chat; the messaging app is not considered secure for classified communications. The accusations were made by Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine who had accidentally been added to the chat; it was unclear who included him. After Hegseth denied sharing classified information on Signal, The Atlantic released text messages in which the defense secretary noted the launch times for military jets that were to be used in the strikes on Houthi targets. In April 2025 The New York Times reported that Hegseth had shared the Yemen attack plans in another Signal chat, which included his wife, brother, and personal attorney, among others. A subsequent investigation by the DOD’s inspector general found that Hegseth had sent classified information on Signal and that he could have endangered U.S. troops. Hegseth, however, denied sharing classified material.
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Hegseth also made headlines in June 2025, during Pride Month, when he ordered a review of the names of vessels that commemorate civil rights figures. He also announced that the USNS Harvey Milk, honoring the gay rights icon and Navy veteran, was being renamed. The move was said to be part of Hegseth’s goal of restoring the “warrior culture” to the U.S. military. He has accused generals and other leaders of being “woke” and claimed that what he sees as their focus on diversity and equity has weakened the military. Hegseth outlined his various views in a series of books, including The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free (2024).
Boat strikes
On September 2, 2025, the U.S. military, under the direction of Hegseth, began conducting lethal strikes on small civilian boats operating in or near Venezuelan waters. The Trump administration justified the attacks by saying that the targeted vessels were being used for drug smuggling and terrorism. In November the Washington Post reported that the September 2 attack included a second strike that killed two survivors in the wreckage. The incident brought scrutiny to Hegseth’s orders and led legal experts to claim that a war crime had been committed. According to multiple news outlets, while Hegseth ordered the attack, he was not involved in the decision to launch a second strike. However, the admiral in charge of the operation had given the order so as to fulfill Hegseth’s alleged command to kill everyone. Some legal experts stated that Hegseth’s reported directive resulted in illegal extrajudicial killings and was thus a war crime. Hegseth distanced himself from the incident, saying that he had left the control room before the second strike was ordered.
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Peter Brian Hegseth
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