 Defense &
National Security |
Defense &
National Security |
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Hegseth forces out top Driscoll adviser |
Hegseth orders the ouster of top adviser to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who was in line for a promotion held up by the Pentagon chief. |
Alex Brandon, Associated Press |
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forced out a top adviser to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who was a top spokesperson when Gen. Mark Milley was the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hegseth directed Driscoll, who is now in Switzerland as part of a U.S. delegation negotiating to end the Russia-Ukraine war, to remove Col. David Butler, who was Driscoll's spokesperson, from the Pentagon last week, multiple news outlets reported on Tuesday. "After 28 years of dedicated service, Col. Dave Butler is immediately transitioning from his position as Chief of Army Public Affairs to retire," Cynthia O. Smith, an Army spokesperson, told The Hill in a statement Tuesday. "His integral role in the Army's transformation efforts will be missed, and we wish him tremendous success." Butler was among over 30 Army officers who were en route to a promotion. Hegseth expresses concerns over some officers and has held up the promotion for some time, but since the officers are selected by the Army board, the Pentagon head can't remove them from the list. Butler took his name off the list and filed his retirement paperwork in hopes of allowing other officers to get promoted, news outlets reported. Butlers's departure marks another change among the senior military brass since Hegseth took over the Pentagon. Hegseth has fired or forced into retirement a number of senior military officials, including Gen. CQ Brown, who was chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Adm. Alvin Holsey, former head of U.S. Southern Command. |
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Filip Timotija — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
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How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: |
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commended the Trump administration's recent boat strikes in the Caribbean in a Tuesday social media post. "Turns out President's Day — under President Trump — is not a good day to run drugs," Hegseth wrote on the social platform X. The secretary was replying to a mission report from the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), which oversaw the boat strikes. Southcom's X account posted that a … |
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Air Force One jets are expected to receive a new paint job in President Trump's preferred colors of red, white, gold and dark blue, The Hill’s sister network NewsNation has confirmed. Both the luxury jet donated by Qatar and new VC-25B Boeing jets will feature the new colors, an Air Force spokesperson told NewsNation. The Air Force One title is given to any aircraft carrying the president. Four smaller C-32 aircraft … |
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened on Tuesday to sink U.S. warships amid continuing nuclear talks between the Middle Eastern nation and the U.S. "The Americans constantly say that they've sent a warship toward Iran," Khamenei posted on the social platform X. "Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware.” “However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that … |
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Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
- Officials representing Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia will continue discussions geared toward ending the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in Geneva, according to Ukrainian national security adviser Rustem Umerov.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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New subpoenas issued in inquiry on response to 2016 Russian election interference, AP sources say |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has issued new subpoenas in a Florida-based investigation into perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump and the U.S. government’s response to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to multiple people familiar with the … |
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Events in and around the defense world: |
- The Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting a discussion on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. E.T. on the "United States and Iran on the Brink: What's at Stake?"
- The Atlantic Council is hosting an event on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET, launching a new report titled "Adversary at the table: Negotiating with Putin's Russia."
- The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Fletcher School at Tufts University will host a discussion on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET on "The State of Civil-Military Relations in 2026 and Beyond."
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News we've flagged from other outlets: |
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) member is going after Paramount over the company’s apparent decision to bar CBS late night host Stephen … Read more |
| Tricia McLaughlin, a top spokesperson and assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), plans to leave her role. … Read more |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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