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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived on Monday for his first full day leading the Pentagon, vowing to support President Trump’s priorities of sealing the U.S. border with Mexico, using military planes to deport migrants with uncertain or contested legal status and increasing the military’s combat readiness.
The Pentagon last week rushed 1,500 active-duty Marines and Army soldiers to the southwestern border, joining 2,500 forces already there. Hegseth predicted that more would be on the way soon to help build barriers and support law enforcement.
On Sunday, the White House threatened to impose tariffs on Colombia to force President Gustavo Petro of Colombia to accept U.S. military planes used for deporting migrants.
As Defense Secretary, Hegseth has vowed to bring a “warrior ethos” to the U.S. military, hold people accountable and provide more details. He promises “more executive orders” from Trump, including one to reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing Covid vaccines.
There was a backlash to his tweet about any employee who doesn’t comply with the Trump directive would be fired, as people were upset he posted that any employee who does not comply will be fired without any context about what this really means.
Some employees at Fort Benning removed two videos from their training exercises about the Tuskegee Airmen, which fought in World War II. However, after backlash and pressure, these videos were eventually restored.
Additionally, Hegseth mentioned previously named Army bases, Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, which were honored for Confederate generals, and acknowledged the efforts made to rename the bases to no longer honor figures from the past.
On his first call as Defense Secretary with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, Hegseth congratulated the Israeli government’s actions in taking down Hamas military leaders.
Regarding the U.S. military sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that were previously blocked by President Joe Biden, the White House agreed to proceed with the shipment as Defense Secretary Hagseth promised support for Israeli military actions and believed that he backs Israel’s war in Gaza and supports its efforts to defeat Hamas.
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