Pete Hegseth‘s reputation is nosediving within the Pentagon as insiders increasingly question his fitness to lead the Defense Department.
One high-ranking officer and two longtime civilian military officials slammed their boss as a lightweight and grandstander who less than nine months into his tenure has lost the respect of the department’s top brass.
Each said the Pentagon is in a tailspin, with widespread uncertainty about Hegseth’s policies and strategies, especially in the Caribbean, and unprecedented deployments of national guard troops to US cities.
They also said Hegseth has done little to address low morale and heightened concerns about military funding and job security at a time of DOGE cutbacks and what’s turning into a prolonged government shutdown.
‘There are work horses and show horses, and Pete’s a show pony, an absolute joke who has no business in that job,’ the officer told Daily Mail.
‘What we have here is an empty suit running this department into the ground,’ added one of the civilians who has worked in the Pentagon for nearly three decades.
‘It is soul sucking to witness,’ said the other.
But despite their disgust for the Pentagon chief, sources don’t believe Hegseth’s days are numbered.
Insiders at the Pentagon told Daily Mail that Pete Hegseth’s reputation continues to nosedive as his attitude and policies come under growing scrutiny, with military activity ramping up in the Caribbean and low morale spreading throughout the department
Divisions in the War Department flared in September when Hegseth unprecedentedly summoned 800 senior military leaders worldwide for a lecture on stricter fitness rules, grooming standards and his campaign against ‘wokeness’
Now, a high-ranking officer and two longtime civilian military officials say the prolonged government shutdown and DOGE cuts are crippling the department, describing Hegseth as more of a ‘show pony’ than a true leader
That’s because none believe that his tenure at the Defense Department hinges on what military officials think. As long as he’s a loyal and telegenic mouthpiece for Trump and no major embarrassments or loss of American lives happen, Hegseth is safe in his job.
All three insiders insisted on anonymity for fear of losing their jobs – especially at a time when they say Hegseth has become fixated on rooting out staffers expressing criticism or speaking with the news media.
Hegseth has tried, unsuccessfully, to strongarm news outlets into seeking Defense Department approval before publishing any defense-related information, including unclassified details.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson shot off this petulant response late Tuesday when we asked about the insiders’ concerns: ‘We couldn’t care less about anonymous cowards who pass fake rumors to a low IQ Daily Mail blogger that prints anything she’s told.
‘We will continue to revolutionize the Department of War for the better despite the lies that the Fake News publishes.’
The three Pentagon insiders we spoke with this week and others we’ve interviewed for previous stories have a list of growing concerns that range from Hegseth’s policies to his personality.
Chief among them is what each described as the hypocrisy of his emphasis on meritocracy in the military when the former Fox News host served only 12 years in the US Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
Despite his colleagues’ poor reviews of the Secretary of War, insiders say it’s unlikely Hegseth will face consequences anytime soon due to his unwavering loyalty to Trump and his penchant for publicly endorsing that allegiance
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson brushed off the insiders, telling Daily Mail they ‘couldn’t care less’ about the ‘fake rumors’ and that Hegseth would continue to ‘revolutionize’ the department
Hegseth deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan during his time in the service.
His military career included time as an officer in the infantry and later as a public affairs officer – neither role that, in the insiders’ views, gave him the skills to lead a department with 2.9 million workers or a broad enough understanding of the military as a whole.
‘The word “merit” coming out of his mouth is the worst kind of hubris. I honestly don’t know anyone in the department who doesn’t gag when he says it,’ one of the two civilian sources said.
The other spoke of widespread confusion in the department about the military’s role in specific theaters, including Asia, Europe, the Middle East and, most recently, the Caribbean.
The department has over the last month initiated a substantial buildup, including an estimated 4,500 Marines and sailors, in that region.
Its operations, concentrated mainly near Venezuela, have involved airstrikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels and killed at least 32 people.
Two of the insiders described a lack of clarity – strategically, legally and ethically – about conducting presumably preemptive military strikes on suspected narcotraffickers labeled as terrorists.
‘It’s all a big gray area,’ one said about the Caribbean buildup, which the administration has framed as part of a broader strategy to combat both drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
His tenure as the nation’s top military official has sown widespread confusion within the department, as multiple airstrikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels have killed 32 people amid what insiders describe as a ‘lack of clarity’ in communications
Hegseth’s department has sent 4,500 troops to the Caribbean in just the last month (PICTURED: US Marines doing training exercises in Arroyo, Puerto Rico, on October 16)
Pentagon staffers are also frustrated by the department’s decision to deploy the national guard to Chicago and Portland (pictured) as they feel its solely for political reasons
‘A lot of experts in the building are feeling like they’re not being heard as they warn about getting involved down there,’ they added.
Meanwhile, Pentagon staffers are frustrated about what they view as inappropriate and legally questionable deployments of National Guard troops in American cities such as Chicago and Portland for what they see as political reasons.
And Hegseth’s sweating of the small stuff, his preoccupation with the trappings and optics of his job that has led the defense secretary and the department astray, all three insiders told us.
They pointed to Hegseth’s repeated insistence on being called the war secretary rather than defense secretary – parlance that Pentagon staffers apparently mock.
‘G.I. Joe thinks ‘defense’ makes him sound like a p***y,’ one said.
Insiders say tensions are rising between Hegseth and Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem, with rivals grumbling over Trump’s favoritism toward Noem – especially after the Coast Guard greenlit two private jets for her at a staggering $172million
Derision of Hegseth has spiked within the Pentagon since late September when he assembled about 800 senior military leaders from posts throughout the globe for a lecture about stricter fitness and grooming requirements and nixing wokeness throughout the department.
Hegseth managed to patronize and p**s off top commanders while providing no new information or unveiling no new policy changes, leaving them wondering why he called them together in person for his televised speech rather than simply sending a mass email with a video attachment.
‘The general consensus was that he was basically using them as props for his TED Talk,’ the officer, who was in attendance that day, said.
Even the right-leaning Washington Times reported Tuesday about Hegseth losing the trust and respect of top commanders.
‘If he ever had us, he lost us,’ it quoted a current Army general as saying in response to Hegseth’s performance at Quantico.
The military has seen a surge in enlistments this year, although it is unclear whether that’s due to Hegseth’s gung-ho, anti-woke reforms appealing to young people or rather to a series of recruitment measures that predate him and are now coming to fruition.
But among military careerists, our sources say Hegseth’s already weak reputation has plummeted even further since the government shut down on October 1, forcing about 224,000 civilian employees to work without pay and even more to be furloughed.
The government shutdown has caused civilian and military personnel to be even more fearful about their job security, and growing ‘resentment’ around Hegseth partially stems from his defense of the Republican shutdown strategy
Civilian and military personnel were fearful about their job security even before the shut down as Trump administration DOGE efforts slashed jobs at the Pentagon and Hegseth forced out people he suspected, sometimes irrationally, of undermining him and his agenda.
Our insiders described growing resentment among commanders, rank and file military members and civilian workers of Hegseth’s outspokenness in defense of the Republican shutdown strategy – a departure from a longtime custom among his predecessors of staying out of the political fray.
‘It besmirches the department, the work that we do, and on a personal level makes people question if we can take three more years of Pete mouthing off, of his drama,’ the senior officer said.
After more than three decades in the military, he added, ‘This is the first time I’ve been made to feel like a pawn.’
