Pete Hegseth and Defense Policy

Multiple outlets report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the removal last week of Col. Dave Butler — the Army’s top strategic communications adviser to Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George (and adviser to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll), and a former spokesman for Gen. Mark Milley — and that Butler subsequently “officially retired”; officials told the New York Times Hegseth blamed Butler for late‑2025 news articles that compared Hegseth unfavorably to Driscoll, and several outlets say Butler’s name was on a promotions list Hegseth reportedly held up. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll praised Butler’s 28‑year career and role in the Army’s transformation, and observers say it is unusual for a defense secretary to personally order such a firing, a move seen in the context of Hegseth’s broader Pentagon shake‑up and hostility toward Milley.