Pete Hegseth appeared to have a quickly lost patience for the Ukrainian plight in its fight against Russia as he took over leadership at the Pentagon last year.
The Secretary of Defense – later renamed War Secretary – seemed to have a disdain for any pro-Ukraine generals left over from President Joe Biden‘s term, according to a New York Times report.
Specifically, sources detail tension between General Christopher Cavoli, who is now retired but was commander of United States European Command from 2022 until his retirement from the Army in July 2025.
One official said it remains unclear whether Hegseth didn’t like Ukraine or didn’t like Cavoli.
Hegseth also told Cavoli to stunt his once-daily briefs to weekly and on two occasions demanded he shorten them to ‘four or five sentences long.’
Previously, Cavoli delivered Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lengthy and detailed battle reports on every day besides Sunday. The general also had him on speed dial as the two discussed the conflict on a regular basis.
The Department of War did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for why the secretary wanted less and more snappy briefings or why Hegseth was ‘annoyed’ with Cavoli.
Once sworn-in on January 25, 2025 following a narrow Senate confirmation, Hegseth jetted off to Europe the second week of February amid President Donald Trump’s promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war in his first days back in office.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (right) immediately clashed with then-General Christopher Cavoli during their first and only meeting in Germany in February 2025, according to a NYT report
Hegseth reportedly demanded Cavoli send him less and shorter briefings on the Ukraine-Russia war sticking to ‘four or five sentences’
But right away things weren’t as peachy between Cavoli and Hegseth as they were with his predecessor.
The former Fox News host had a clear ‘hatred’ for Cavoli, but his aides couldn’t figure out why, according to the Times.
At their first and only meeting in Stuttgart, Germany on February 11, 2025, Cavoli told Hegseth the US needed to maintain support for Ukraine.
‘If we stop doing this, it’s going to veer to the wrong side,’ then-General Cavoli insisted.
An official said this meeting ‘was when Hegseth began to associate General Cavoli with the Ukraine fight.’
‘He started hating them both. And I don’t know who he hated first,’ the official said of Ukraine and General Cavoli.
Aides also suggested Hegseth’s annoyance could have stemmed from protesters who gathered during his Europe trip condemning the Pentagon’s crackdown on transgender soldiers.
They also attribute jet lag to his irritation, according to the NYT article.
