Pete Hegseth has been hit with a scathing rebuke coming from his own backyard.
The ever-embattled defense secretary was eviscerated by his own representative, Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, after his attempt to honor fallen service members on Veterans Day ended in a fresh bout of humiliation.
The former Fox News host, 46, paid his respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Wednesday—then got admonished by an Army sentinel for walking away laughing.
“It was fitting for Hegseth. He has no respect for anybody and it’s Fox News values,” Cohen told MeidasTouch’s Pablo Manríquez on Thursday.
Hegseth showed up at the sacred military memorial with his wife Jennifer, his chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver, and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh. Live coverage of the visit captured the group laughing as they walked away from the tomb of an unidentified U.S. soldier from World War I.
Specialist Thomas Iglesias, the Army sentinel patrolling the tomb, quickly barked an order to maintain silence.
Sentinels are always present, keeping watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier around the clock, even during hurricanes and other severe weather.
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“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” he bellowed.
“I don’t think anything will happen to the officer—shouldn’t,” Cohen said. “He’s, in my opinion, a hero.”
Cohen also branded Hegseth “a clown” and said his appointment as defense secretary was “an embarrassment to the troops.”
“Sir, if you could say one thing to Hegseth if he were standing right here, what would it be?” Manríquez asked.
“F off,” Cohen responded.
Pete Hegseth’s own representative, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, blasted him over the fresh controversy.
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Hegseth had lived in Tennessee for years before joining President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. He and his wife live with their seven children in Goodlettsville, a Sumner County suburb located about 15 miles north of Nashville.
The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cohen’s remarks.
Earlier, however, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell came to Iglesias’ defense.
“The Secretary and the entire Department have always honored—and will always honor—the sacrifices our military men and women have made to keep America safe,” he said. “While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”
Hegseth pins a medal to the uniform of Specialist Thomas Iglesias, who scolded him on Veterans Day.
Hegseth doubled down on the damage control by awarding Iglesias a Joint Service Commendation Medal on Thursday, according to CNN.
“We love soldiers. We love standards,” he wrote on x. “Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots.”
The post Hegseth’s Own Congressman Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen Delivers Brutal Two-Word Rebuke appeared first on The Daily Beast.
