How Many Strikes Does Pete Hegseth Get?

And how long will the Republicans tolerate poor judgment in national defense?

Pete Hegseth’s blunders as Secretary of Defense were completely predictable, since he was widely tagged by experts as one of the least qualified SECDEF nominees in history. Qualifications aside, he also had racked up a resume of failed leadership and bad behavior. So, it should come to no surprise to anyone, other than the Commander-in-Chief and the Senate Republican Majority, that Pete Hegseth’s tenure in the Pentagon is a hot mess.

What are the qualifications that got Hegseth appointed way above his own personal Peter Principle? Fox News? Check. Good hair? Okay, looks sorta like Robert McNamara. Misogynistic? Check. Vituperative language? Check. Yep, that’s about it.

How many times does the SECDEF have to screw up for the slow learner in the White House to realize what has been plainly apparent all along? Let’s count just a few of the SECDEF’s snafus and gaffes in just his first six months.

1. Hegseth’s Role in Signal-gate. Hegseth did not create the Signal group chat on which classified information about military operations against Yemen were shared, but he participated and allowed it to continue. Messaging apps such as Signal are not authorized to share non-public Department of Defense information. The SECDEF should know and enforce that prohibition. The National Security Agency had warned that Signal was vulnerable to foreign surveillance just a month before these group chats.

2. Oops, I did it again. Confirming that Hegseth really does not understand Operational Security, Communications Security, and classified information, the SECDEF created his own group chat on the same vulnerable platform, Signal, and shared attack plans with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. The first time, the platform was unsecure. The second time, Hegseth was knowingly sharing classified information with people he knew did not have security clearances.

3. He fired loyal senior staffers and smeared them for allegedly leaking information (but that was not true). In April, John Ullyot, a loyal Trumpist, resigned as the chief Pentagon spokesperson, accusing Hegseth of unleashing “a month of total chaos at the Pentagon.” Hegseth accused three of his most loyal staffers of leaking official information and summarily fired them. Hypocrisy? None of the accusations were true.

4. Hegseth Gives Away Ukraine Bargaining Chips to Putin. In February, Hegseth publicly stated that Ukraine should not have NATO membership and should not expect a return to pre-war borders even before negotiations began. European leaders were immediately livid at Hegseth giving away bargaining points, and Hegseth had to back away from his comments the next day. Senator Wicker (R-MS) called it a “rookie mistake.” Hegseth should have been redshirted.

5. Hegseth Cut the DoD Office of Net Assessment. Hegseth disestablished the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment (ONA), designed to provide strategic analysis on the most dangerous challenges to U.S. national security. This comes as the U.S. enters a new era of major power competition and Russian militarism.

6. Hegseth Fires Senior Military Officers for Being Black, or Women, or Both. In a day and age where the military is experiencing significant, even disastrous recruiting problems, the U.S. can ill-afford to alienate major classes of potential recruits, including women and African-Americans. Indeed, women helped the Army meet its recruiting goal in 2024. But Hegseth’s peremptory firing of women and African American senior officers, dismissal of programs that incentivize and assist in getting and keeping women and blacks in the military is making the military a less accepting, attractive place for African Americans and women.

7. Hegseth Stopped Vital Weapons for Ukraine. As Russia unleashes the most deadly and vicious attacks on Ukraine since the invasion started, Hegseth stopped previously approved weapons shipments to Ukraine which are essential to thwarting those Russian attacks. He did so without the permission of President Trump and without informing the White House or consulting with the Secretary of State or the Special Envoy to Ukraine, former Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg. While it is completely within the purview of the SECDEF to request a review of stockpiles, these weapons were already approved for shipment. They included Patriot interceptor missiles, so the late delivery of those missiles can be attributed to near-term civilian casualties in Ukraine. Was the pause in shipment a mistake? Yes, Trump reversed Hegseth’s embargo after the Fourth of July weekend.

The Republican Party has lots of people who could perform the office of Secretary of Defense. Some of these people are loyal to Trump. Maybe a few look good on Fox News.

But Pete Hegseth has way too many strikes against him, and it is time for the President to call him “out.”

Jamie Barnett is a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, having served 32 years. He served as Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Bureau. He is currently an adjunct professor of national security in the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies at the University of Mississippi. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors alone and are not expressions of the views of any of the organizations with which he is associated.