Pentagon denies reports Hegseth ordered halt in cyber operations against Russia
The Department of Defense is denying reports Secretary Pete Hegseth halted offensive cyber operations against Russia.
'TO BE CLEAR: @SecDef has neither canceled nor delayed any cyber operations directed against malicious Russian targets and there has been no stand-down order whatsoever from that priority,' the Pentagon's rapid response team posted on X on Tuesday.
The statement follows multiple media reports that Hegseth ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to pause offensive operations last week. The reports came amid an apparent broader shift in relations between the United States and Russia under the Trump administration.
The Pentagon previously declined to comment on the matter, citing 'operational security concerns,' when reached by The Hill on Monday.
'There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the Warfighter in all operations to include the cyber domain,' the official added.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a civilian cyber defense agency that is separate from Cyber Command, emphasized Sunday that there 'has been no change in our posture.'
'CISA's mission is to defend against all cyber threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia,' the agency wrote on X earlier this week. 'There has been no change in our posture. Any reporting to the contrary is fake and undermines our national security.'
The reports stirred skeptics from both sides of the aisle prior to the Pentagon's latest statement.
'I don't know why he's doing that,' Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) said in an interview on Fox Business. 'But the Russians are attacking us every single day. The Chinese are attacking us every single day. I don't think you signal to the Russians that 'Hey, we're gonna unilaterally withdraw from this space.''
'If they can keep attacking us — and they do every single day — they should be fearful of our capacity to inflict damage on them,' he continued. 'So I really don't understand where that's coming from.'
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the reported moves a 'critical strategic mistake' on Sunday.
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The Hill
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an hour ago
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Trump's Military Birthday Parade Was a Gross Failure
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(That was before he launched his own $TRUMP meme coin.) Around 7 p.m., the big screens onstage that displayed the American flags turned to logos for UFC, the mixed martial arts business. Later, the MC thanked 'special sponsor Palantir,' a contractor hired to help Trump compile data on Americans across federal agencies. Military handed out drinks from sponsor Phorm Energy — a new drink by Anheuser-Busch and UFC CEO Dana White, in the flavor Screamin' Freedom. Rock music was the soundtrack of the parade, including AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck,' during the War on Terror section. There were instrumentals from the Heart song 'Barracuda' and Metallica's 'Enter Sandman.' The military parade was overseen by the American commander-in-chief as he conducts a militarized crackdown on immigrants in Los Angeles, California, driving protests. He sent in National Guard troops and Marines not because their presence is necessary to keep the peace, but as a show of force — and as a test run for operations in other states and cities, should the president feel angry enough to launch them, likely illegally. At 2,000 locations across the country, protesters held a 'No Kings' Day to voice their anger toward the president. About 20,000 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles, undeterred by law enforcement's use of non-lethal weapons on earlier protests and the president's escalation by sending in troops. Law enforcement largely left protesters alone for much of the day, but they deployed tear gas in the Atlanta area and arrested eight people, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. For an event that shut down much of central Washington D.C., closed key roads, and reportedly cost up to $45 million, the promise of a spectacle of America's military might — that just coincidentally happened to fall on Trump's birthday — didn't draw out legions of his fans. Instead the crowd of supporters, servicemembers, curious locals, and military adjacent spectators who braved the oppressive heat and humidity of a post-thunderstorm D.C. managed to just fill out their allotted side of the street over several blocks in front of the White House, with plenty of room to spare. In front of the central stage a crowd befitting a midsize concert gathered in view of Jumbotrons. The lawns surrounding the Washington monument — which have hosted countless inaugurations, protests, concerts, and gatherings, were largely unused overflow space. When the TV broadcast showed the crowd risers along the parade route, they were sparsely filled. The National Park Service issued permits for 250,000 people for the National Mall festival and the military parade. An aerial parade of historic military aircraft flew above the National Mall, traversing a course from Lincoln to Washington that — despite clear anticipation of crowds by event organizers — was more empty field and food truck line than crowd. Though rock music blared on TV, the parade itself was eerily quiet. One video posted on X shows tanks squeaking past nearly silent crowds, sounding like a grocery cart in need of grease. In the weeks leading up to his birthday and the parade, Trump told close associates that protesters were going to try to overshadow the military parade, including in the media coverage, in D.C. and elsewhere, and that he was determined not to let that happen, a source with knowledge of the matter and another person briefed on it tell Rolling Stone. Millions of people reportedly participated in 'No Kings' parades Saturday across the the D.C. military parade took place, hundreds of protesters stood outside the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. People had been dancing around, before hundreds of cops circled the four-block square without warning or announcement, leading to a tense stand-off, according to a Rolling Stone reporter on the ground. Flash bangs went off, and police used tear gas and smoke grenades to clear protesters. More from Rolling Stone Trump Raked in $57.3 Million From Crypto Venture, Per White House Financial Disclosures Thousands of 'No Kings' Protests Held Against Trump's 'Militarized Birthday Party' ICE Will Pause Farm, Restaurant Raids After Trump Social Media Post Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
