The president gave the order to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after touting U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats off South America.

Military offficials are not impressed with Pete Hegseth'ms handling of his role as Secretary of the Departent of Defense

Pete Hegseth is said to have lost the respect of his senior officers after an “embarrassing” speech in which he railed against “fat troops” and the state of the US armed forces.

In the three weeks since Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suddenly called the military’s top brass to Quantico for an anti-woke stump speech, his leadership has fallen flat.

A rumor that circulated online in October 2025 claimed (archived) zookeeper and conservationist Robert Irwin filed a $60 million lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.  According to the story,

Was Pete Hegseth sued for $50 or $60 million along with a television network after an "on-air clash" with Robert Irwin or someone else? No, that's not true: A network of spam pages on Facebook put out dozens and

Pete Hegseth has "lost the trust and respect" of top military members, thanks largely to his "grandstanding" public appearances, The Washington Times reported The post Pro-Trump Outlet Details Military Leaders Ripping Into Pete Hegseth: ‘He Lost Us’ first appeared on Mediaite.

The first, and perhaps most obvious, hint that the story was fabricated was that Hegseth no longer works for Fox News.