‘The Status Quo Hasn’t Worked’: Hegseth Breaks Down Why Pentagon Needs Major Shake Up

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed Sunday on Fox News why the Pentagon will be opening up various positions and called out previous mandates under the Biden-Harris administration that led to the need for “fresh blood.”

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has acted swiftly to deliver on his campaign promise to drastically reduce the bureaucracy and financial waste at the federal level, implementing budget and personnel cuts that have affected agencies such as the CIA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). On “Fox News Sunday,” host Shannon Bream questioned Hegseth about a “rumored list” he allegedly put together of defense personnel that would be let go, asking if there was “anyone left” on the list, “if it exists.”

“There’s no list, Shannon. I’ve heard that. I’ve seen that very rumor. Although, we have a very keen eye toward military leadership and their willingness to follow lawful orders. This is all about defending the Constitution. Joe Biden gave lawful orders. A lot of them are really bad,” Hegseth said.

“It’s unfortunate how they eroded our military ideological, COVID mandates,” Hegseth added. “President Trump has given another set of lawful orders and they will be followed. If they’re not followed, and all these orders are in keeping with the Constitution and norms inside the military.”

Since cuts began in January, Democrats have pushed back against Trump’s efforts to clean out wasteful spending within the government. One department that is reportedly slated to see cuts is the Department of Defense (DOD) due to past reports of its misuse of taxpayer funds. In April 2024, the Pentagon, under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, could not provide Congress with a compiled report by its due date of March 2024 on how much the military was spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training, salaries for DEI administrators and any impacts on recruiting and retention throughout the force.

By July 2024, Open The Books exclusively shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation that Pentagon school teachers, who were involved in DEI efforts, had promoted material that trained students to be social justice activists.

“If not followed, then those officers will find the door. That’s not a tough calculation. We feel really good about the direction the Pentagon is headed under President Trump,” Hegseth continued. “We’re going to focus on war fighting and lethality and accountability and be the most transparent Pentagon that folks have seen in a long time, which is why I explain these things on a regular basis.”

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Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Navy enlisted the help of an active-duty drag queen influencer to participate in a pilot program aiming to boost recruitment numbers, which repeatedly fell short of expectations for several branches. The Pentagon also hostedpride month celebrations for LGBT identifying service members.

In one of his first moves in his new position, Hegseth halted sex-change procedures for all armed forces members, enforcing Trump’s January executive order that forbade personnel from serving with a “gender identity” divergent from their sex.

Bream went on to highlight push back against the department’s shake up, calling out a Georgetown law professor who claimed Trump “firing the Army, Navy and Air Force JAGs” is “what you do when you’re planning to break the law.”

“Ultimately, we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don’t exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything that happens in their spots. What we know about these TJAGs … traditionally, they’ve been elected by each other or chosen by each other, which is exactly how it works often with the chairman as well,” Hegseth said. “Small group of insulated officers who perpetuate the status quo. Well, guess what? Status quo hasn’t worked very well at the Pentagon. It’s time for fresh blood.”

“So we’re going to open up those positions to a broader set and a merit-based process to find the best lawyers possible to lead the Army, the Air Force and the Navy. There’s nothing about purging. There’s nothing about illegal,” Hegseth continued. “We’ve made clear from the beginning, Shannon, the military will be apolitical with the fidelity of the Constitution, prepared to close with and destroy our enemies.”

On Friday, Trump announced the first general removed from the DOD, dismissing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown in a Truth Social post. While the president expressed his gratitude for Brown’s service, he announced that he would be nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine for the position.

“One thing people haven’t noted yet, which I’ll share, is we’re going to take those are three star billets. But traditionally, they’ve been two star billets, over time,” Hegseth added. “There’s been lots of inflation in the ranks over time. We’re going to return those billets to two star billets. We’re going to shrink the size of our headquarters units, the inflation of military generals.”

“We won World War II with seven four star generals, Shannon. We have 44 today … Has it created better outcomes or not? We’re challenging a lot of assumptions at the Pentagon to streamline what we do so that we get as many resources as possible to the warfighter,” Hegseth concluded.

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