As the ongoing military operation in Iran plays out, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has become an even higher-profile figure within the White House.

While many applaud his leadership at the Pentagon during a tumultuous period across the Middle East, some critics have sought to portray him as a power-hungry warmonger.

One question at a press conference on Friday began to touch on such claims, but Hegseth was ready, as the Daily Caller reported:

“I have heard you talk a lot about bombing people in places, and when you give these orders to carry out this extreme level of violence, what’s going through your mind and your body? Do you have an adrenaline rush? Are you scared? Do you feel like you’re on a power trip?” the reporter asked.

“That’s a very TMZ question,” Hegseth began. “My only thought process is to ensure our warfighters have everything they need to be successful, defeat, and destroy the enemy, and they come home. I want them to feel empowered to have every authority they need within our rules and our law to bring maximum violence to the enemy, because war is violent. War requires doing difficult things. But I want our people to feel empowered, so it’s our guys that come home and their guys that do not.”

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The Trump White House has opened up such news conferences to a much wider selection of outlets, now including TMZ. And as the Daily Caller went on to report, another question from the same outlet asking if Hegseth would consider changing the name of the agency he leads to the “Department of Peace.”

He called it a “great question.”

Hegseth’s remarks on Friday sparked a wider conversation on social media:

The biggest news out of the Pentagon involved Hegseth’s decision to fire US Navy Secretary John Phelan:

Axios provided additional context surrounding that announcement:

Why it matters: The ouster of the Navy’s top civilian caught many off-guard and adds to the pile of military officials who have either abruptly exited or been pushed out of their posts under Trump 2.0.

  • “Phelan didn’t understand he wasn’t the boss. His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given,” a person familiar with the situation told Axios.
  • The same person said Phelan and Hegseth did not “get along.”

Driving the news: Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Phelan was “departing the administration, effective immediately,” in a post on X. He did not provide a reason.

  • Navy undersecretary Hung Cao will take over in an acting capacity.

Here’s a clip of Hegseth’s exchange with the TMZ reporter:

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This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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