Scorched Earth: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Torches DEI, the Establishment in First Week at Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went scorched earth in his first week at the Pentagon — taking a torch to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs throughout the military and ordering some big reforms. He even authorized airstrikes against terrorists.

Hegseth just last Monday climbed the steps of the Pentagon’s River Entrance for his first day as defense secretary, giving his first press conference on the spot.

“Every moment that I’m here, I’m thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers. Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting,” he said.

Later in the day, he spoke to a number of foreign counterparts, as is customary for new defense secretary.

On Tuesday, he continued to speak to foreign counterparts but made his first major move to upset the status quo and bring accountability back to the Pentagon — by pulling the security detail for former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. (Ret.) Mark Milley and ordered an inspector general review into whether he should be demoted in retirement.

He also removed an additional portrait of Milley from the Pentagon from his time as Army chief of staff. (An different painting of Milley from his time as chairman was removed from the Pentagon on President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day).

The moves sparked outcry from Democrats and Trump critics who had praised Milley for his reported attempts to undermine the commander-in-chief in the remaining months of his first administration.

“Accountability is back,” Hegseth said about the move. “If you actively undermine the chain of command as Gen. Milley did under the previous Trump administration, we are going to review those actions.”

Hegseth also reversed a policy put into place by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that would pay for troops and their families to travel to another state for an abortion.

Later that evening, Hegseth had dinner with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but he then had to jump into action after a tragic aircraft collision between a commercial airliner and an Army Blackhawk helicopter on a training mission over Washington, DC — the administration’s first crisis.

The next day, on Wednesday, Hegseth continued to monitor the aircraft collision response, and appeared alongside Trump at a White House press briefing.

He also took another major move that upset the establishment by issuing a memo implementing a ban on DEI throughout the military. He wrote:

The strength of the DoD comes from our unity and our shared purpose. We will focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness. Providing Service members an equal opportunity to excel will help us remain the strongest and most lethal fighting force the world has ever known.

On Thursday, he continued to monitor the collision response, putting out a video on X to update the public from his office in the Pentagon.

Republican communications consultant Chad Banghart praised Hegseth for the transparency, posting, “Never have I seen anything like this before!” He added, “Very transparent. Well done!”

On Friday, he looked into a report there was flooding inside the Walter Reed National Military Center and ordered it fixed. He said in an X post:

We looked into this – it’s real and unacceptable. This is a result of deferred maintenance under the last administration. My staff is prioritizing fixing this, and under this President our troops will only receive the best care.

On Friday evening, he took his next major reform.

He canceled the use of official resources for the celebration of all cultural awareness months, including National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.

“Our unity and purpose are instrumental to meeting the Department’s warfighting mission. Efforts to divide the force – to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution,” he said in his official guidance.

However, there was one more major reform that would spark outrage from the establishment and legacy media.

Outlined in a memo written by the acting press secretary, Hegseth ordered four mainstream media outlets — the New York Times, NBC News, NPR, and Politico — to leave their workspaces embedded inside the Pentagon to give them to the New York Post, One America News, Breitbart News, and the Huffington Post.

The move was not only physical but symbolic, to show the country that these legacy media outlets would no longer drive the agenda at the Pentagon from their perches inside the building.

The next morning, on Saturday, he authorized military airstrikes against ISIS-Somalia.

On Monday, he was back in action.

Eight days after the climbed the steps at the Pentagon, he debarked from a plane in Texas on his first official trip as defense secretary to visit the southern border and meet with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas, who are conducting the mission to secure the border.

In contrast, during his first week, former Biden administration Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mostly spoke with foreign counterparts and issued two statements on allowing transgender troops to serve in the military and on climate change, according to official Pentagon releases.

Hegseth has already won praise from at least one senator.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who said in a statement on Friday, “Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership, the Pentagon will once again be focused on lethality, not pushing a political agenda. Thank God common sense has been restored to our military under President Trump’s leadership.”

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