An effort is under way among some Pentagon officials to denounce Pete Hegseth as unfit to serve as Defense Secretary, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Since May, drafts of a letter have been circulating among high and mid-level military brass and civilian workers to ‘Let the American public know this guy has no clue what he’s doing,’ one of them told DailyMail.com.
Sean Parnell, the department’s chief spokesman, came to his boss’ defense characterizing the letter as ‘palace intrigue’ or ‘sensationalized mainstream media gossip’ that he said Americans ‘don’t care about.’
‘They care about action,’ reads his statement.
Three Pentagon officials — two military and one civilian, and each with at least 20 years in the department — spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Aside from losing their jobs, they fear prosecution by Donald Trump‘s administration, and being replaced by people with less experience who would be less apt to challenge some of Hegseth’s decisions.
Each said the letter calling for his ouster won’t be made public until next week at the earliest.
They described its contents in the meantime – with complaints ranging from politicized decision-making to department-wide dysfunction, low morale, and a climate of paranoia driven by what they describe as Hegseth’s obsession with rooting out dissent.
They also pointed to his preoccupation with optics, citing his installation of a makeup studio inside the Pentagon, his staged photo ops lifting weights with the troops, and his new grooming and shaving policy for servicemen.
‘He has branded himself the epitome of his so-called ‘warrior ethos’ that he’s always talking about,’ one insider said, adding that Hegseth appears to be reshaping the military into ‘a cross between a sweat lodge and WWE.’
They said the letter decries the Defense Secretary for issuing orders and setting policies without considering — or even hearing — input from intelligence, security and legal advisors.
As all three insiders told us, the letter also cites dysfunction and chaos in the department due to what they said are Hegseth’s inattention to, indecision on, and inconsistencies regarding several military matters, big and small.
Those include defining the role the U.S. military should play in space and setting a realistic timeline for building the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system, a top military goal for Trump.
They also include clarifying the channels by which Pentagon personnel should and should not communicate with each other.
One insider said Hegseth’s top aides are clamping down on contact between workers, even when there’s no security, professional or ethical reason to do so.
The insiders described what they perceive as Hegseth’s extreme distrust of the military and civilian personnel who work in the Pentagon, especially senior staffers who speak out when best practices are sidestepped or institutional memory ignored.
They said Hegseth’s preoccupation with sussing out leakers and critics in the department has caused bureaucratic logjams, brought some basic, but essential military business to a standstill and triggered a sense of paranoia throughout the building.
One of the officials said that some Pentagon personnel feel pressured to attend the Christian prayer services Hegseth has arranged during work hours, even though they’re supposed to be optional.
Two spoke of disdain among many Defense officials about the Secretary’s preoccupation with optics — token gestures they said have little to do with defense.
They cited the makeup studio the former Fox News personality and fitness buff had installed at the Pentagon and his insistence on being photographed lifting weights and doing push ups with troops.
‘Sure, he wants everyone as fit as he is. But he also wants everyone noticing how he looks,’ an insider said.
Aside from Hegseth’s review of fitness standards, he also has focused on military grooming, including specific instructions on how members should shave.
Under his new policy, soldiers with a skin condition that causes razor bumps and affects mainly Black men could be discharged from service.
One insider pointed to current tensions in Europe and Asia, and full-out war spanning from the north to the south of the Middle East, and said: ‘With everything that’s happening in the world, he’s choosing to focus on razor bumps. Seriously?’
One also cited last month’s mobilization of about 4,000 National Guard troops in response to protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles as an example of Hegseth ignoring his department’s advice.
‘Nobody in the building thought that was a wise idea,’ one of the insiders said.
Few in the Pentagon also support Hegseth’s efforts to undo diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and eradicate what he calls ‘wokeness’ in the military by restoring the names of military bases that had previously honored Confederate generals.
That insider said Hegseth’s repeated criticism of diversity policies has led to ‘far more’ racist incidents than before the Secretary took office.
He noted that Hegseth’s anti-wokeness agenda also has prompted suspicions among many non-white service members and DOD staffers that their job performance is being scrutinized more closely than those of their white colleagues.
‘Some people are being looked at as if they don’t deserve their positions,’ he said. ‘The effect that has on productivity can’t be overstated.’
Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman, credits Hegseth with ‘record-high’ recruiting numbers, European allies’ agreement to meet Trump’s 5% defense spending target, and what he called the ‘flawless success’ of the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites on June 22.
‘Secretary Hegseth has successfully reoriented the Department of Defense to put the interests of America’s Warfighters and America’s taxpayers first, and it has never been better positioned to execute on its mission than it is today,’ his statement reads.
‘The DoD’s historic accomplishments thus far are proof of Secretary Hegseth’s bold leadership and commitment to the American people and our men and women in uniform.’
The three Pentagon officials we spoke with told us that a small group of their colleagues — including officers from all military branches except for the Coast Guard — and some civilian workers met at a private home in May to discuss how to get the word out about what they view as Hegseth’s incompetence.
They agreed the message would be stronger coming from current rather than retired DOD personnel.
Attendees jointly decided to give themselves a few months to agree on the wording of a joint letter that they would either send to the news media, run as an ad in a major newspaper or launch online via social media or a newly created web site.
They set a deadline for mid-July — this week — to finalize the letter so it could be made public by next Friday, the 25th, which marks Hegseth’s half-year in office.
The letter is written but, as the planned launch date nears, organizers are undecided about whether it should be signed only by the few people willing to jeopardize their careers, or if there’s a way to organize broader engagement throughout the military by protecting signers’ identities.
The group is in discussion with a public relations advisor, tech consultant and community organizers in hopes of finding a way to broadcast their complaints far and wide throughout the U.S. while limiting the risk of retaliation.
‘We need to believe it’s possible,’ one of the officials told us, adding that a solution, if one exists, may not be feasible before next week.
The effort comes after Hegseth — a former Army National Guard officer who had limited experience running large, complicated organizations — got off to a bumpy start leading the country’s biggest bureaucracy.
During his confirmation process, critics raised concerns about his treatment of women and issues with alcohol.
Three Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell, voted against his appointment, and Vice President J.D. Vance cast a tie-breaking vote.
Less than two months into his tenure as defense secretary, a group of national security leaders discussed a planned military strike against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on a group chat using a nonsecure group chat on Signal that accidentally included the editor of The Atlantic magazine.
The ‘Signalgate’ scandal caused two of Hegseth’s top aides and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary to be booted from the Pentagon. Trump ultimately fired National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, who organized the chat.
Meanwhile, several outlets reported that Hegseth shared sensitive information about the attack in a second Signal text chain with his brother, lawyer and wife.
Trump, at least outwardly, has been steadfast in supporting Hegseth, who arranged for the military parade the president long had wanted, but was denied by Pentagon officials in his first term in office.
Hegseth also embraces Trump’s ‘America First’ ideas.
The Secretary’s willingness to carry out Trump’s isolationist goals was starkly clear this week when he abruptly pulled about a dozen high-ranking military speakers from the Aspen Security Forum.
The four-day summit in Colorado has for years drawn officials from Republican and Democratic administrations to publicly share ideas with the world’s leading national security and foreign policy experts.
In a statement to Just the News, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson derided the event for promoting ‘the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.’
One attendee of the conference told DailyMail.com last Thursday that the Defense Department’s absence from the event is a ‘worrisome sign’ that Hegseth is sealing the military off from outside opinions and potentially helpful input.
Another called the cancellation ‘boneheaded.’
