Reed says Hegseth’s actions ‘damaged our military’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told hundreds of junior military officers and enlisted leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Wednesday that the Trump administration has achieved a cultural shift in the U.S. military. “No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors,” Hegseth said. “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top.”
Hegseth has vowed to shrink what he calls a bloated flag-officer corps since taking over the Pentagon. He said Wednesday that he has already achieved a 10% reduction and aims to reach 20%.
His firings, and his unconventional practice of reaching into promotion boards to effectively end the careers of senior officers, have drawn bipartisan criticism. Many of the notable firings were of Black or female officers, let go without explanation despite excellent service records.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded to the speech with a statement: “Throughout his tenure, Secretary Hegseth has taken countless reckless, partisan actions that have damaged our military. He has ended the careers of dozens of our most accomplished senior officers and refused to explain why. Today’s news should alarm every American.”
In the speech, Hegseth defended his policies and claimed that retention and recruitment, including among women and minorities, has risen. He described the new force as “color-blind” and merit-based.
He also spent considerable time attacking the news media for reporting on troop morale and depleted munitions stocks in the war with Iran, now in its seventh month. “A free press is, of course, important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they’re undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s treason, actually,” he said.
The Pentagon has not held a news briefing since May, even with a handpicked press corps more sympathetic to the Trump administration.
The event echoed a gathering last year at which Hegseth delivered an unusually partisan speech to hundreds of generals and admirals, despite the military’s foundational tradition of avoiding politics. The flag officers stayed almost completely silent as Hegseth spoke about the culture-war themes of his book The War on Warriors. He said the “State of the Force” address would be an annual event and was no less partisan this year, blaming past generals and defense secretaries by name for weakening the military.
Hegseth also announced new initiatives around autonomous weapons, technological innovation, base construction and domestic production of essential military supplies. He pledged to elevate the military’s chaplains, calling religious faith “the most essential component of our republic.”
Earlier this week, Hegseth announced an end to civilian tenure positions at U.S. military academies, which a Pentagon press release said would “reform our educational institutions to ensure they remain laser-focused on lethality and readiness.” In the speech, he criticized elite academic institutions as anti-American and named five new colleges that will pilot an enhanced relationship with the Pentagon to produce officer candidates.