Pete Hegseth

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Trump Threatens CEO Pay If Weapons Makers Don't Change

Companies are too slow and spend too much on stock buybacks, posts say

(Newser) - Defense CEOs who enjoy eight-figure paychecks may soon have to make do with a lot less. President Trump on Wednesday issued a list of demands for defense contractors in social media posts that includes capping pay at $5 million until company performance improves—a limit he called "a mere...

Pentagon Reopens Debate Over Women in Combat

Review ordered amid debate over standards, effectiveness, gender integration

(Newser) - The Pentagon is launching a six-month look at how women are performing in ground combat jobs, reopening a debate that many in the military thought was settled a decade ago. In a memo obtained by NPR , Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel Anthony Tata directs the Army and Marine Corps to...

Trump Administration Has Rare Reaction to Media on Venezuela

It's a 'thank you' from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reporters for keeping plans of raid quiet

(Newser) - In the wake of last weekend's US military action in Venezuela, the news media got something it seldom hears from the Trump administration: a thank you. Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited news organizations that had learned in advance about last Saturday's strike leading to the capture of...

Mark Kelly Responds After Hegseth's Censure

Senator is unrepentant over video message to troops

(Newser) - Sen. Mark Kelly is firing back aggressively at both defense chief Pete Hegseth and President Trump over the Pentagon's action against him . Soon after Hegseth censured Kelly and threatened to reduce his military retirement rank and pay because of a video message to troops , the Arizona Democrat declared that...

Pete Hegseth Censures Mark Kelly


Pete Hegseth
Censures
Mark Kelly
Jan 5, 2026 10:14 AM CST

Pete Hegseth Censures Mark Kelly

Could result in a demotion for retired Navy captain for telling troops they can disobey illegal orders

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that he is issuing a letter of censure to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over the lawmaker's participation in a video telling troops they have a right to resist unlawful orders. Hegseth said that the censure was "a necessary process step"...

Venezuela Operation Knocks New Anchor Off Course

Instead of average Americans, viewers mostly see Pete Hegseth

(Newser) - The new anchor of the CBS Evening News released a video message to viewers on Thursday telling them where established media, including his network, has gone wrong and providing details of his new approach. "We've taken into account the perspective of advocates, and not the average American,"...

US Strikes ISIS Targets in What Hegseth Calls 'Vengeance'

Sweeping attacks in Syria will continue into Saturday, officials say

(Newser) - US forces opened a broad wave of air and artillery strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday, answering President Trump's promise to retaliate for the killing of two American soldiers and a US interpreter last weekend. "This is not the beginning of a war—it is...

Death Toll in US Boat Strikes Blows Past 100

US military says 5 were killed in 2 new boat strikes against alleged drug smugglers in eastern Pacific

(Newser) - The US military on Thursday said it had conducted two more strikes against boats it claimed were smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people. US Southern Command posted on social media that "intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern...

It's Not the Tariffs Paying Trump's Troops Bonus

Administration is tapping $2.6 billion approved by Congress for military housing aid

(Newser) - The funding for that Christmas bonus President Trump promised troops in his speech Wednesday night isn't exactly as advertised. Trump indicated revenue from the tariffs he's imposed on goods coming into the US mostly would cover the $1,776 checks, which he called a "warrior dividend."...

Pentagon Weighs Major Shake-Up of US Commands

Proposal would cut combatant commands, elevate new Americas, International hubs

(Newser) - The Pentagon is weighing one of its biggest command shake-ups in decades, a move that would trim top brass and rewire how US forces are run around the world, the Washington Post reports, citing "people familiar with the matter." According to the Post's sources, a draft proposal...

Hegseth: We're Not Releasing Video of Second Boat Strike

Defense chief cites Pentagon policy on footage of secret operations

(Newser) - The Pentagon says video of a deadly strike on a suspected drug-running boat that killed a pair of survivors will not be released to the public. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Tuesday that the complete, unedited video of the Sept. 2 operation, in which 11 people were killed, will...

Newsom Shares AI Clip of Trump, Aides in Handcuffs

California governor mocks ICE 'cuffing season' video amid musicians' backlash

(Newser) - Gavin Newsom just answered a White House "cuffing season" video with one of his own—this time putting President Trump in digital handcuffs. The California governor on Wednesday posted an AI-generated clip on X that shows Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller sitting...

Pentagon Launches New AI Platform
Pentagon Launches
New AI Platform
Dec 11, 2025 10:19 AM CST

Pentagon Launches New AI Platform

GenAI.mil to support analysis for 3M Pentagon employees

(Newser) - The Pentagon is hitching much of its AI future to Google's biggest brain. Defense officials say they've selected Alphabet's Gemini for Government—Google's tailored version of its flagship AI model—to power a new platform called GenAI.mil, which will be available to about 3 million...

Why Aren't Boat Strike Survivors Being Tried in US?

Keeping them out of US justice system, sending them home undermines Trump administration's claims: NYT

(Newser) - Pentagon officials considered sending survivors of military strikes on suspected drug boats to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, where the US had previously sent Venezuelan deportees, according to the New York Times . Pentagon lawyers reportedly made the suggestion in a call with State Department lawyers after an October military...

Schumer: Hegseth Briefing Was 'Very Unsatisfying'

Defense secretary tells congressional leaders he's still weighing whether to release strike video

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders Tuesday that he was still weighing whether to release the full video of an attack on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors, even as he faced intensifying demands from Congress for disclosure.
  • Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside
...

GOP Senator: Newspaper Owes Hegseth an Apology

Tom Cotton says boat strike on survivors was well within protocol

(Newser) - Democratic lawmakers who have seen video of a boat strike want it released to the public because they say it shows Pete Hegseth's operation went awry. But a key Republican senator backs the video's release because he says it shows just the opposite.
  • "So, I personally don'
...

Let Americans See Video of Strike and Decide: Democrats

Republican senator says he'd like more such attacks

(Newser) - House Democrats called Sunday for the Pentagon to release video of the US strike that killed survivors of a first attack on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, with the party's top member on the Armed Services Committee saying the evidence would contradict Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's explanation....

Hegseth Isn't Sure Video of Strike Will Be Released

Pentagon chief defends strike on survivors but says decision to release footage is under review

(Newser) - Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Saturday again defended a second missile strike on a boat in the Caribbean, but he would not commit to making the footage public. "We're reviewing the process, and we'll see," Hegseth told reporters at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi...

Admiral: We Had No 'Kill Them All' Order

A Democratic congressman, meanwhile, condemns 'troubling' killing of survivors

(Newser) - The military commander responsible for ordering a missile strike on survivors of an earlier drug boat strike was defending his decision-making Thursday to lawmakers in a closed session on Thursday, and a few early developments have surfaced:
  • No 'kill' order: Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley told lawmakers that Pentagon
...

NYT Sues Pete Hegseth Over 'Press-Restrictive Scheme'

Pentagon has banned reporting without official approval; press corps revolts

(Newser) - The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, challenging a controversial Pentagon policy that bars journalists from reporting any information—even unclassified material—unless it has been formally cleared by defense officials. The newspaper says the rule, put in place...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser