The list of controversies surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not short, but near the top is the unusually aggressive purge campaign he’s led at the Pentagon that’s seen a staggering number of U.S. military leaders fired since he took the reins early last year.
Last week, for example, the former Fox News host ousted Navy Secretary John Phelan, which came on the heels of Hegseth also firing Gen. Randy George, the Army’s top officer. Those developments followed the secretary forcing out Col. Dave Butler, which came after he parted ways with three-star Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, which came just two weeks after the public learned about Adm. Alvin Holsey resigning as head of the U.S. Southern Command, reportedly at Hegseth’s request.
This is just a small part of a much longer list, and even some congressional Republicans have mustered the courage to express concern.
During Hegseth’s appearance Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee, some GOP members made clear that they thought the secretary had simply gone too far. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, for example, said, “I share a bipartisan concern of the firings that we’ve seen at the Pentagon. … I would just point out it may be constitutionally right — you have the constitutional right to do these things — but it doesn’t make it right or wise.”
Other Republicans, including Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, raised related concerns.
For his part, the beleaguered secretary had a specific defense, which he appeared to have prepared in advance. “Under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,” Hegseth testified. “So this is not something specific to this administration.”
At first blush, that might seem persuasive. The Trump-era Pentagon purge has appeared dramatic and unprecedented, but if Hegseth’s correct and the Obama administration had a list of similar size, then perhaps the recent firings should be seen as relatively routine?
The problem is that Hegseth, in his sworn testimony, peddled a bogus statistic. The New York Times reported:
The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. It originated with an unsigned 2018 editorial in Investor’s Business Daily, which cites the right-wing news site “Breitbart.com’s Facebook page” as its source.
Mr. Hegseth’s actions to fire senior military leaders are without precedent in recent decades and have come with little explanation.
The Times’ report went on to note that Sean Parnell, an acerbic Pentagon spokesperson, cited the same statistic in a written statement last fall. When challenged on the figure, a DOD press secretary asked the Times not to publish Parnell’s statement.
Five months later, Hegseth nevertheless pushed the same line while under oath in response to bipartisan criticisms.
The Times’ report added, “The Pentagon did not reply to questions on Wednesday regarding Mr. Hegseth’s use of the false number.” Imagine that.
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