Pete Hegseth

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Hegseth Announces 16th Deadly 'Drug Boat' Strike

Death toll is now at least 66 in controversial strikes

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced yet another deadly strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, coming the same day an aircraft carrier began heading to the region in a new expansion of military firepower, the AP reports. The attack Tuesday killed two people aboard...

In Vietnam, Hegseth Talks About War's Legacy, Arms Deals

Transport helicopters and planes are under discussion

(Newser) - On a trip to Hanoi on Sunday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for expanded military cooperation as the US and Vietnam negotiate potential arms deals. Hegseth, speaking ahead of a meeting with Defense Minister Phan Van Giang, said closer military ties would serve the interests of both nations, Reuters reports....

Hegseth, Noem Among Cabinet Members Living in Military Digs

Senior US officials take over DC residences meant for top generals, admirals, drawing some criticism

(Newser) - Several senior Trump administration officials have moved into military housing traditionally reserved for top-ranking officers in the Washington, DC, area, reports the New York Times . Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth now resides in Quarters 8 at Fort McNair—the historic home typically assigned to the Army's vice chief of staff...

Report: White House Wanted Live Bombs at Navy Celebration

One source said officials claimed President Trump 'needed to see explosions'

(Newser) - The White House pressed US Navy officials to launch 2,000-pound live bombs instead of dummy explosives during an elaborate military demonstration for the service's 250th anniversary celebration that President Trump attended, two people familiar with planning for the event told the AP . One person familiar with the planning...

Hegseth Says US Strikes 4 Alleged Drug-Running Boats

14 killed, with one survivor in eastern Pacific

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the US military carried out three strikes Monday in the waters of the eastern Pacific against boats suspected of carrying drugs, killing 14 and leaving one survivor. The announcement made on social media on Tuesday marks a continued escalation in the pace of the...

Pentagon Sending Aircraft Carrier to South America

It's the latest US military escalation in the region

(Newser) - Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Friday the military is deploying an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, a move the Washington Post describes as a "major escalation" of the US military presence in the region. Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to...

Shrapnel Hits CHP Vehicle During Controversial Drills

Newsom, Vance clashed over live fire

(Newser) - Metal shrapnel from an exploding artillery shell fell hit and damaged a California Highway Patrol vehicle as personnel at a US Marine Corps base fired live rounds over a highway—against the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom—during weekend exercises observed by Vice President JD Vance, the AP reports. The...

Maureen Dowd Unloads on 'Muttonhead' Hegseth
Maureen Dowd Unloads
on 'Muttonhead' Hegseth
OPINION
Oct 19, 2025 6:53 AM CDT

Maureen Dowd Unloads on 'Muttonhead' Hegseth

New York Times columnist predicts his crackdown on reporters will backfire

(Newser) - New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd goes after newly rechristened war secretary Pete Hegseth in unwithering fashion in her new column. Among the insults hurled: "muttonhead," "utterly unqualified and looking like the third lead of a cheesy spring-break movie," "paranoid," "immature and...

Southern Command's Boss Quits as Pentagon Sends Forces

Adm. Alvin Holsey has held the job, overseeing the area that includes the boat strikes, for less than a year

(Newser) - The head of the US Southern Command, whose job includes overseeing military operations in the area where the Pentagon has been carrying out fatal strikes on what the Trump administration describes as drug-running boats, announced Thursday that he's leaving the position. Adm. Alvin Holsey has been in the...

Journalists Vacate Pentagon as Hegseth's Rules Kick In
Pentagon Reporters Pack Up
Oct 15, 2025 5:08 PM CDT

Pentagon Reporters Pack Up

Journalists turn in their badges as Trump endorses Hegseth's new rules

(Newser) - Dozens of reporters turned in access badges and exited the Pentagon on Wednesday rather than agree to government-imposed restrictions on their work, pushing journalists who cover the American military further from the seat of its power. News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete...

Hegseth's Plane Makes Emergency Landing

Air Force C-32 landed safely in the UK after losing altitude, issuing 'squawk code'

(Newser) - A plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an emergency landing in the UK after he visited Brussels on Wednesday but nobody was harmed, officials say. "On the way back to the United States from NATO's Defense Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth's plane made an unscheduled...

Even Fox News Says No Thanks to New Pentagon Rules

So far, only ultra-conservative OANN has signed on

(Newser) - Fox News, the former employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has joined a near-unanimous outpouring of news organizations rejecting new rules for journalists based in the Pentagon , the AP reports. Fox signed on to a statement with ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN saying they would not agree to Hegseth's...

A Pentagon Reporter Is Worried About What's Next

NPR's Tom Bowman, who is losing his press pass, says Hegseth wants reporters to be 'parrots'

(Newser) - Tom Bowman of NPR is losing the Pentagon press pass he's had for 28 years on Tuesday, and he offers both an explanation and a warning about why in an essay . NPR is one of many news organizations that have rejected strict new limits on what reporters can and...

Hegseth's Response to Outlets Upset With New Policy: an Emoji

Secretary of defense issues a simple 'goodbye'

(Newser) - When leading news organizations refused to sign the Pentagon's new press policy , Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a pointed response—waving them off with a simple goodbye emoji on social media. After outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and...

Trump Orders Troops Be Paid Despite Shutdown

Post that administration has 'identified funds to do this'

(Newser) - President Trump said on Saturday that he has ordered military personnel to be paid despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote in part:
  • "I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War,
...

Hegseth Is Really Going After Charlie Kirk's Detractors

Pentagon is probing hundreds of DOD staffers over online posts after activist's murder

(Newser) - The Pentagon has launched nearly 300 investigations into Defense Department personnel—including service members, civilian staff, and contractors—for their online comments following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The sweeping probe, described in internal documents and reported by the Washington Post , follows a directive from Defense...

Press Association Blasts New Pentagon Restrictions

'The American people deserve to know how their military is being run'

(Newser) - Facing a deadline next week on whether to sign a statement acknowledging new restrictions on how they do their jobs or risk being thrown out of the Pentagon, journalists who cover the US military appear headed toward a showdown with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Negotiations over changing some of the...

Hegseth: Military Destroyed Another Boat, Killing 4 Aboard
US Strike Kills 4 Off Venezuela
Oct 3, 2025 4:55 PM CDT

US Strike Kills 4 Off Venezuela

Hegseth provides no evidence that boat was carrying narcotics

(Newser) - The US military killed four men on a boat in international waters near Venezuela on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a post, claiming without presenting evidence that the vessel was involved in smuggling narcotics and those on board were linked to terrorist organizations. It was the fourth...

'We're Here to Unleash You,' Hegseth Tells Force in Memphis

Bondi, Miller rally deployed troops and agents

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House aide Stephen Miller went to Memphis on Wednesday to encourage the federal force sent there by President Trump. "We're not here to second guess you," Hegseth told a group of federal, state and local law enforcement...

Defense Officials Weigh In on Hegseth Meeting: 'Could Have Been an Email'

Event draws criticism for timing, tone, and focus on domestic roles

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attempt to rally America's military brass at Quantico Tuesday seems to have fizzled, with many officials left questioning why hundreds of generals were summoned in person—just hours ahead of the government shutdown . "Could have been an email," shrugged one of...

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