Pentagon F*ckery

Thinking critically about the court politics inside a trillion-dollar war machine.

In the past week, three political appointees in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (my old haunt) got perp-walked out of the Pentagon, escorted by security for supposed violations of…who knows.

But it’s been a big story in bureaucracy-land. Politico claims this is about classification leaks relating to everything from China to the Panama Canal to strikes against the Houthis in the Red Sea.

The deputy chief of staff for Pete Hegseth, a senior advisor to Hegseth, and the chief of staff for the deputy secretary of defense, Stephen Feinberg, were all removed from their posts pending an investigation.

Dan Caldwell, one of the three appointees, issued a joint statement representing all three: