US defense secretary faces backlash for attempting to mock Canada’s armed forces amid trade war
A social media post by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program remained online on Wednesday despite a furious backlash on both sides of the border.
On Monday night, Hegseth posted on X a photograph of two people in uniform with a Canadian flag and the caption “this is real”, an apparent attempt at mocking the country’s armed forces amid the Trump administration’s trade spat with its northern neighbor.
Sudden departure of Daniel Driscoll comes after Pentagon chief removed senior officers and blocked promotions, prompting warnings of a leadership crisis
A senior Senate Democrat accused Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth of having “hollowed out” the army’s senior ranks after its top civilian leader resigned after months of internal clashes with Hegseth.
No official reason was given for army secretary Daniel Driscoll’s departure after 18 months on the job, while thousands of US soldiers are deployed in the Middle East. In a statement on Monday night, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Driscoll had been “highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda”, citing his work on “readiness and lethality” and his role in Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out his vision for the cuts in a speech at Quantico attended by all of the military’s generals and admirals last September.
Amid a trade war, Canada’s Liberals swept three special votes and new polling suggested strong support for Prime Minister Mark Carney and his retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Resignation comes after months of turmoil at Pentagon, from leaked investigation to ousting of senior officials
The army secretary, Dan Driscoll, has handed his resignation to Donald Trump, the White House said on Monday, becoming the latest high-profile figure to depart the defense department.
The army official, who is second in line to the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had reportedly been eyeing an exit from the Pentagon amid apparent friction with the secretary.
Response seeks to discredit Washington Post story that four generals and admirals advised against prolonging Iran war
Pete Hegseth regularly receives formal objections from senior commanders and proceeds anyway, the Pentagon’s top spokesman has said, as he tried to discredit a Washington Post report that four generals and admirals had advised against prolonging the war in Iran.
“Of course, we demand candid military advice,” Sean Parnell wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Non-concurs are standard. The Secretary sees them constantly. That’s how you run a real military.”
The turmoil has left a leadership vacuum in the Army at a moment when it is trying to find ways to defend troops against the threat posed by cheap drones.
In 2026, Mr. Hegseth has removed at least 45 officers, selected by boards made up of peers, from promotion lists. More than half of those officers have been female or Black.
Anthropic argued designation as ‘supply-chain risk’ could cost billions in lost business and reputational harm
A US judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration broke the law when it designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk earlier this year, finding that the government had unlawfully targeted the AI firm for refusing to comply with defense department demands.
“The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” Judge Rita Lin said in a 59-page decision.
Cadets walking near Pershing Barracks at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2014. A West Point climate professor says he was fired for refusing to “defy science.”
A screen grab from a video posted by U.S. Southern Command on Monday showed what it said was a vessel operating along a drug-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific.
President Javier Milei of Argentina, left, with Flávio Bolsonaro, who hopes to be Brazil’s next president, last month. Mr. Milei’s strident support of Mr. Bolsonaro’s candidacy led to a rift with the current Brazilian president.
The appearance for Representative Zach Nunn was another departure from previous norms for the defense secretary, whose predecessors kept a greater distance from politics.
Democratic senator Jon Ossoff attacked Donald Trump and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, over the Iran war, saying they lied 'the nation into a war'. Ossoff, who is running for re-election in Georgia in November, made the comments while speaking at a rally in midtown Atlanta on Sunday afternoon
The administration is veering wildly in its response to the national security implications of A.I. as China, America’s main technological and military rival, charges ahead.
The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln in San Diego in 2021. The aircraft carrier, with a crew of about 5,000 sailors, has been at sea for more than eight and a half months.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unilaterally halted a weapons shipment to Ukraine on July 2 despite internal military assessments showing the aid would not compromise American military readiness, NBC News reported on July 4, citing three U.S. officials.
The pause in aid, which included critical air defense systems and ammunition, reportedly caught the State Department, members of Congress, Ukraine, and key European allies off guard.
Ukraine suffered one of the largest attacks on July 4, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling for more air defense to protect civilians in the cities. The attack on Kyiv killed one person and injured 23 more.
A senior U.S. military review had concluded that while some munitions stockpiles, including precision weapons, were low, they had not fallen below critical thresholds, according to NBC. Despite this, Hegseth opted to stop the shipment. This is reportedly his third such move since February.
"We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the three-and-a-half years of the Ukraine conflict," Congressman Adam Smith the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said. Smith, who said his staff reviewed the Pentagon's figures, called the justification "disingenuous."
The shipment reportedly included dozens of Patriot interceptors, 155 mm artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, guided missile systems (GMLRS), Stinger and AIM air-to-air missiles, and grenade launchers.
Two sources told NBC that some of the weapons had already been loaded onto trucks in Poland when the halt was ordered.
Zelensky recently called Patriot systems "real defenders of life," since Patriot missile systems are the best air defense in Ukraine's arsenal. They are considered to be the most effective measure against Russian ballistic missiles like Iskander and Kinzhal.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell described earlier the decision as part of a broader "capability review" to ensure U.S. forces remain equipped.
The halt has initiated debate over the future of U.S. support for Ukraine.
Lawmakers from both parties, including Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, expressed frustration at the lack of advance notice. "Now is the time to show Putin we mean business," McCaul wrote on X.
Republican Congressman Joe Wilson also reacted to the halt, warning of its consequences amid Russia's ongoing strikes.
"As Americans begin to enjoy the sounds of fireworks in celebration of our Nation's Independence, war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who is losing his pathetic war, resorts to scorched earth tactics across Ukrainian cities that predate Moscow's existence," Wilson wrote.
Wilson said he is "confident the Department of Defense will advance President Trump’s objectives stated at The Hague to send additional air defense and approved weapons to help stop this absolute depravity, as allies have and must continue doing at a rapid pace."
Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick has requested an emergency White House briefing, warning the decision could cost lives.
Trump has denied that the U.S. paused shipments on July 3, contradicting both Pentagon confirmation and reporting.
"We haven't," Trump told a reporter. "We're giving weapons." He also claimed the Biden administration had "emptied out our whole country" and insisted Washington must prioritize its own defense.
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