Hegseth hit with 'rare intervention' as Pentagon generals grow tired of his act: NYT

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

July 26, 2025 8:19AM ET


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing growing opposition from Pentagon generals, including from the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, as questions about his leadership grow. According to a Saturday report from the New York Times, a recent decision by the former Fox News personality to deny a promotion to senior Army officer Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, because Hegseth believed he was a leaker, set off a furor at the Pentagon.

As the Times' Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper reported, after Sims was cleared of allegations of leaking, Hegseth agreed to the promotion only to later change his mind.

"Mr. Hegseth’s sudden reversal prompted a rare intervention from Gen. Dan Caine, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He urged Mr. Hegseth to reconsider," the Times is reporting before adding, "Mr. Hegseth met with General Sims one final time but refused to budge."

The report notes that the latest clash with the generals is part of a growing problem as questions grow about the embattled secretary's performance. "Mr. Hegseth’s actions could shape the military’s top ranks for years to come. His insistence on absolute loyalty, backed with repeated threats of polygraphs, also creates uncertainty and mistrust that threaten to undermine the readiness and effectiveness of the force," Pentagon insiders told the Times.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/hegseth-pentagon-revolt/

---

Link to NYT article - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/us/politics/hegseth-pentagon-leadership.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. And Caine is the Trump supporter promoted above his level of competence

On 21 February 2025, President Donald Trump dismissed Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, naming Caine as his nominee to replace him.[24][18] Speaking at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said he had met Caine in Iraq in December 2018.[24] According to Trump, Caine told him, "I love you, sir. I think you're great, sir. I'll kill for you, sir."[9] Caine allegedly claimed that ISIS could be defeated in a week. Caine was said by Trump to have worn a MAGA hat, a detail disputed by his aides. According to The New York Times, Caine met with Trump and vice president JD Vance the week prior.[24] The Times later reported that Caine was considered for the position over Michael Kurilla, the commander of United States Central Command.[25] Title 10 of the United States Code requires the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be selected from the officers of the regular components of the armed forces and only if the officer had served as a combatant, unified, or specified commander, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or the highest uniformed officer in one of the six military service branches, though that requirement may be waived if "necessary in the national interest."[24]

Caine's nomination was officially sent to the Senate on 10 March.[26] He testified before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on 1 April.[27] The Committee on Armed Services voted to advance his nomination 23–4 on 8 April.[28] Caine was confirmed on 11 April in a 60–25 vote.[29] He was promoted to a four-star general prior to the vote.[30] Caine was sworn in on 14 April.[31] He is the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have never served at the rank of four-star general or four-star admiral before assuming the position[15] and the first to have been retired at the time of confirmation. Caine is the second retired general to serve as chairman after Maxwell Taylor in 1962, though Taylor was recalled to active duty the year prior, after retiring in 1959.[1] Caine is also the first chairman to have never served within the Joint Chiefs of Staff since Hugh Shelton in 1997[1] and the first Air National Guardsman to become chairman.[28]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Caine#Nomination_and_confirmation

If he's telling Hegseth it's wrong, you know it's really wrong.

[Jacson6]

2. WOT?! The generals don't want to be ruled over by a former platoon leader.

Last edited Sat Jul 26, 2025, 05:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Oh come on. He bossed around sergeants and privates so they could pass inspections!

[Geechie]

3. Wow, that headline made me think ACTUAL INTERVENTION

You know, where they have a bunch of people you know sit you down and tell you you're fucking up?

No such luck.

[jmowreader]

4. The rank and file aren't happy with him either

His nickname on Reddit's r/army subreddit is TripleSecDef.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. Snort

[LuckyLib]

5. I can imagine these high ranking officers going

home and saying to their partners “That guy is a complete moron!”

[AverageOldGuy]

8. Having served with a number of senior officers . . .

. . . including two Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I can assure you -- when they go hom they say something like: "That %#*@*%$* (*&(#^$(( *&%^$* *&^%$&$*$ and *&$^%^#*($&*#.'

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Much more accurate, imo.

[hvn_nbr_2]

6. It suddenly occurs to me that this administration's defining characteristic is...

It suddenly occurs to me that this administration's defining characteristic is that it lives entirely in its id, the Freudian aspect of the psyche that seeks immediate pleasure, gratification, and emotional release. There is no ego (rationality) or superego (conscience or sense of societal values).

(I'm not much into Freud but this model sure seems to be applicable to Bambino Bonespurs' gang.)

[Joinfortmill]

7. His time is short, me thinks.

[Paladin]

11. Not anywhere close to short enough, for me.

Same for the rest of trump's hand-picked batch of incompetents.

[hildegaard28]

12. Sigh...

Why don’t they just do us all a favor and perform a military coup, already, and arrest the Orange Menace and all his cronies. Give them all military tribunals, from Trump, Bondi, and Noem, to Elon and Big Ballz.

[MrChuck]

13. This is how the trump administration loses the military.

The buffoon angering the top military officers along with the playtoy way the orange F√ckhead views the troops is the perfect recipe.
Keep it up

[paleotn]

14. It was only a matter of time.

A pretty insular bunch who tend to take care of their own and he apparently has no idea how that culture works. Wondered how long it would be before Whisky Pete "fucked with the wrong Marine" so to speak.