How Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the culture wars to the military
How Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the culture wars to the military October 7, 2026 1:59 PM ET By Dave Davies 44-Minute Listen Transcript New York Times military and Pentagon reporter Greg Jaffe says Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has disproportionately blocked promotions of Black and women senior officers, and he’s also been purging the military of transgender people. “Usually Secretaries of Defense do everything they can to protect the military from our divisive politics and those culture wars,” Jaffe tells Dave Davies. “Hegseth was really the first Secretary of Defense I've seen in my lifetime who invited that into the Pentagon, and made it a central plank of his identity and leadership.” https://www.npr.org/2026/10/07/nx-s1-5993825/how-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-brought-the-culture-wars-to-the-military
