Pete Hegseth

US Military Strikes Venezuela, Captures Maduro in Unprecedented Regime Change Operation

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump announced that the U.S. “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela” and that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were “captured and flown out of the Country.” Explosions were heard in Caracas early Saturday …

Donald Trump Nicolas Maduro Marco Rubio Pete Hegseth military-intervention venezuela regime-change executive-overreach foreign-policy
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Venezuela Naval Blockade Kills 105 in 29 Strikes as Trump Refuses to Rule Out War

| Importance: 9/10

The Trump administration’s naval blockade of Venezuela has killed at least 105 people in 29 strikes on 30 vessels as of December 22. The US Coast Guard seized the Centuries tanker carrying 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude to China. Approximately 15,000 US troops and more than a dozen …

Donald Trump Nicolas Maduro Stephen Miller Pete Hegseth Jeff Merkley +2 more venezuela military-strikes naval-blockade war-powers drug-war +1 more
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Trump Officials Flee to Military Bases: Miller, Noem, Hegseth, Rubio Create Militarized "Green Zone"

| Importance: 9/10

On October 30, 2025, multiple senior Trump administration officials relocated to military housing on U.S. bases in the Washington D.C. area, citing security threats from protesters following the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk. The moves create what critics describe as a militarized …

Charlie Kirk Kristi Noem Marco Rubio Pete Hegseth Stephen Miller accountability-evasion civil-military-relations green-zone isolation kristi-noem +5 more
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Pentagon Chief Hegseth Blocks Military Officials From Contacting Congress Without Approval

| Importance: 9/10

On October 15, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg issued an internal memo barring nearly all Defense Department personnel, including military commanders, from communicating with Congress or state lawmakers without prior approval from the Pentagon’s office …

Pete Hegseth Steve Feinberg Pentagon congressional-oversight separation-of-powers pentagon obstruction military-accountability
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US Military Conducts "Double Tap" Strike on Caribbean Vessel, Killing 11 Including Shipwrecked Survivors

| Importance: 10/10

The US military conducted a controversial “double tap” strike in international waters in the Caribbean, killing all 11 people aboard a suspected drug vessel. The first strike killed nine individuals and set the boat ablaze. Minutes later, Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, then …

Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley Pete Hegseth Donald Trump Senator Angus King Tren de Aragua war-crimes military-operations extrajudicial-killings international-law-violations human-rights-violations
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Federal Judges Establish Precedent for Presidential Accountability

| Importance: 9/10

In a landmark series of rulings spanning multiple federal appeals courts and culminating on April 10, 2025, federal judges significantly reaffirmed and expanded legal frameworks for holding the executive branch accountable. The decisions centered on critical constitutional issues including …

Federal Judiciary Supreme Court Department of Justice Rebecca Slaughter Lisa Cook +2 more presidential-accountability constitutional-crisis judicial-review legal-precedent executive-power +1 more
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Trump Fires Joint Chiefs Chairman and Navy Chief in Unprecedented Military Purge

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump fires Joint Chiefs Chairman General Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Defense Secretary Hegseth subsequently dismisses Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti (first woman to lead the Navy), Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife, and the top military lawyers for Army, …

Donald Trump Pete Hegseth General Charles Q. Brown Jr. Admiral Lisa Franchetti General James Slife +3 more military-purge joint-chiefs brown-firing franchetti-firing systematic-politicization +2 more
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Defense Secretary Revokes General Milley Security Detail in Political Retaliation

| Importance: 9/10

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revoked former Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley’s security detail and clearance, ordering an investigation to determine if Milley should be stripped of his four-star rank. The action targets Milley despite active Iranian assassination threats against him …

Pete Hegseth General Mark Milley Pentagon Inspector General Iranian Regime Donald Trump milley retaliation security-detail hegseth military-politicization +2 more
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Pete Hegseth Dismisses Sexual Assault and Alcohol Abuse Allegations as "Smear Campaign" at Confirmation Hearing

| Importance: 8/10

Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee and dismissed credible sexual assault allegations and documented alcohol abuse as a coordinated “smear campaign” orchestrated by political enemies and the media.

Hegseth faced questions about a …

Pete Hegseth Senate Armed Services Committee cabinet-confirmation sexual-assault alcohol-abuse compromised-appointee defense
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