Say 'I made a mistake': Retired Army general's advice for Hegseth over Signal controversy
Retired Four-Star Admiral William McRaven joins Morning Joe to discuss the controversy surrounding Defense Secretary Hegseth's use of Signal and his new book 'Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them'.
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26 minutes ago
Investigators looking at who sent Hegseth's Signal texts, whether they were told to delete them, sources say
Pentagon investigators are looking into whether Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally wrote the text messages detailing the military's plans to strike Houthi targets in Yemen or whether other staffers typed out those details, according to two people familiar with the ongoing probe. The Defense Department's Office of Inspector General has spent several weeks interviewing Hegseth's current and former staff members to figure out how United States strike details taken from a classified system wound up in a commercial messaging app known as Signal. "Because this is one of the DOD IG's ongoing projects, in accordance with our policy we do not provide the scope or details to protect the integrity of the process and avoid compromising the evaluation," DOD IG spokesperson Mollie Halperin told ABC News. The details were relayed in two chat groups that included Hegseth - one with Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking officials, and a second one that included Hegseth's wife, who is not employed by the government. It remains unclear how soon the findings will be released. Hegseth is scheduled to testify for the first time as defense secretary on Tuesday, where Democratic lawmakers are expected to question his handling of classified and sensitive information. The sharing of the details reportedly occurred around the same time in mid-March when key members of President Donald Trump's National Security Council, including Hegseth, inadvertently shared details about the March 15 missile strike in Yemen with the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Much of the same content was shared in the second encrypted chat with family members and others -- a chat group that Hegseth had created on his personal phone during his confirmation process that included his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, the two officials told ABC News. In addition to looking at whether the information was classified and who wrote it, investigators are also asking whether any staff members were asked by Hegseth or others to delete messages, according to one person familiar with the IG probe. The government is required under law to retain federal communications as official records.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals why military recruitment has soared under Trump
Joining "Fox & Friends" live from Normandy, France, where Allied forces once stormed the beaches to turn the tide of World War II, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored the 81st anniversary of D-Day with a message that looked not only to the past but to the future. As the nation honors the bravery and sacrifices of World War II veterans, Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism among today's young Americans – one he says is driving an uptick in military recruitment. "It's historic. Of course it's a morale shift. It shifts back to the day President Trump was elected and then inaugurated," he said Friday. World War Ii Veterans Travel To Normandy For Emotional D-day Commemoration The Army alone has posted the best recruiting numbers in years, reaching 61,000 for fiscal year 2025, with four months remaining. That's an increase of more than 6,000 from 55,150 in fiscal year 2024. Hegseth told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade that the spirit inside the U.S. armed forces is "incredible" right now, and the morale shift isn't isolated to the Army. Read On The Fox News App "It's also the Air Force, it's also the Navy, it is also the Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, as the president says, law enforcement," he continued. "Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there's a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that's going to have their back, that says, 'We want you to be warriors. We're not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We're doing war fighting. We're training, we're preparing, we're focused on [getting] back to basics, and… the young people of America have responded, and they'll continue to respond." Trump Declares May 8 As 'Victory Day' For World War Ii: 'Going To Start Celebrating Our Victories Again!' Hegseth attended this year's ceremony where military officials and veterans commemorated the 81st anniversary of D-Day. He started his morning with a physical training session with rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment on Omaha Beach at nearly the same time as the first landing craft would have hit in 1944. "These men [World War II soldiers] were willing to charge toward the guns with almost no chance of success, especially in those first waves, and they did it for us," he said. Days ago, the defense secretary honored the sacrifices of U.S. armed forces at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where he greeted a number of World War II veterans whose resolve remains high more than half a century later. "The contrast of those 100-year-old World War II vets and then those 25-year old Army Rangers that I did a workout with this morning – the blood of fighting for freedom still pumps in the veins of Americans, and we still raise those types, and that's what was really cool to see."Original article source: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals why military recruitment has soared under Trump
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
I'm a gay man. Pride has always been special, but this year it's so much more.
I'm a gay man. Pride has always been special, but this year it's so much more. | Opinion Pride Month is more than just a time to wave rainbow flags, show off cute outfits and watch a drag show while eating chicken-on-a-stick. At its heart, pride is an event to gather with people who care. Show Caption Hide Caption Listen to Stonewall riot veterans recount the infamous police clash Veterans of the 1969 riot at The Stonewall Inn reflect on the infamous clash with police and why the fight for equality continues over trans rights. A couple of years back, I wrote a guest column in the Detroit Free Press about what can feel like insincere corporate support for pride – how it can be a performative act to maximize profit, that at its worst erodes the authentic queer experience, and at its best gives us a surface level of seen-ness, a mainstream support that often feels as thin as a dollar bill. Since then, things have only gotten more worrisome for queer folks in America and are downright terrifying for our transgender siblings. Rights and respect for LGBTQ+ people had been moving forward for the past few decades, but now those rights are being peeled away. And the moment the political headwinds changed, support for LGBTQ+ Americans started to feel very flimsy. Pride has always had a special place in my heart, but this year I'm feeling it so much more. Opinion: A trans athlete won in California. Her peers cheered – and exposed the truth. I'm worried and exhausted. Can you feel it, too? Growing up, my parents and grandparents taught to me to believe in and to love America – a country, a place, a belief come to life – an idea that in execution is often severely flawed, but ultimately strives toward the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, be they an immigrant, gay, queer, women, men, trans, fat, thin, old, Black, Asian, disabled or able-bodied. But it seems our government, and as such, we the American people, are no longer striving – our country is feeling like a scarier, far less hopeful place. You can feel it, too, can't you? The exhausting weariness of trying to get by in a country where the truth, science and so many people matter far less than they did a few years ago; where the future for anyone who isn't a billionaire – and LBGTQ+ folks especially – grows darker and darker each day. Opinion: Hegseth stripping Harvey Milk's name off Navy ship is weak and insecure There are regular attacks on the middle and working classes through the increasing cost of living, cuts to Veterans Affairs, Medicaid and other health services and medical research. Attacks on trans and queer folks, and the executive orders policing the bodies of (mostly) women, transgender and nonbinary people seem to be the steps to a subjugation of queer people and, at some point in the not-so-distant future, of all women. Queer teen suicide ideation (already twice the rate of their straight-identifying counterparts) is up, along with the feeling that people just don't care about each other. And the odds of anything changing in the near term are down. Being an employed, White, gay, cisgender male with stable housing gives me some privilege, a bit of a shield against what's coming. But watching the erasure of trans folks, queer folks, women, people of color and more, I am very worried – concerned, confused and worn the hell out. I fluctuate between thinking I, or someone I love, will be disappeared or sent to a gulag, and thinking I'm crazy for worrying about being sent to a gulag. (A gulag, an El Salvadoran prison … without due process under the law, we are all at risk.) Share your opinion: Do you celebrate pride? Are you worried about Trump's impacts on it? Tell us. | Opinion Forum It's more important than ever to celebrate pride I don't know what the future holds, but I do know this … from Patroclus and Achilles to me and that dizzyingly dashing bantamweight MMA fighter, queer love has been with us since before recorded time, and it cannot be erased. It's not going anywhere. Alas, queer hate, using the smallest minority as a scapegoat to rally against, has been with us for nearly as long. And that's why we have pride. Pride Month is more than just a time to wave rainbow flags, show off cute outfits and watch a drag show while eating chicken-on-a-stick. At its very heart, pride is an event to gather with people who care, with folks who are sharing the same oftentimes lonesome and frightening experience, a place for all who are marginalized to feel accepted, heard and to be surrounded, supported and seen by people just like you. Just like me. Pride is a home, and you, queer reader, are pride. I don't know what we can do to save or reclaim our country, but maybe it's the same as what we can do to save or reclaim our sense of self: Rally likeminded individuals to support, to vote, to come together, to shout, to celebrate ourselves, our authentic existence, our lives, our liberty, our pursuit of happiness, our very survival and … our pride. Robert M. Nelson lives in Detroit. This column originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press.
