Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new policy for the Pentagon that aims to reform the process of internal complaints between members of the agency to stop “bad faith” retaliation by ensuring “prompt and impartial investigations.”
Why It Matters
Hegseth and other national security officials used a Signal group chat to convey allegedly sensitive information about attacks in Yemen against Houthi targets and mistakenly included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who reported on its use and contents. Hegseth and other Cabinet officials denied that classified information was shared on the chat.
The New York Times then reported the existence of a second Signal group chat with similar content, this time including Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal attorney as members.
The revelation prompted an investigation into potential leaks at the Pentagon that has resulted in several senior officials departing or planning to depart the agency. Official reasons have not been confirmed for their departure, but they include Hegseth’s senior adviser, Dan Caldwell; Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary; and Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper.
What To Know
Hegseth on Wednesday signed a memorandum titled: “Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability,” which in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, he called the “No More Walking On Eggshells” policy.
In the roughly two-minute video, Hegseth outlined his reasons for creating the new policy, which he called “one of the most important” reforms he has created.
“Too often at the Defense Department, there are complaints made for certain reasons that can’t be verified that end people’s career, either through EO or the IG,” Hegseth said. “We need to reform that process completely so commanders can be commanders.”
The equal opportunity programs, which are meant to help provide an outlet to report concerns about discrimination, have been used in retaliation against superior officers and peers, according to Hegseth.
Introducing the “No More Walking On Eggshells” policy. pic.twitter.com/zOcAW2z2X7
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) April 25, 2025
“We need to fix that,” Hegseth said, explaining that the directive will lead to a review of equal opportunity programs “to ensure prompt and impartial investigations, fair to all parties involved, and timely and appropriate resolution of allegations of discrimination.”
In a memo issued by the Pentagon following the signing of the memorandum, the agency clarified that the review of programs to ensure complaints that are unsubstantiated by actionable, credible evidence are “timely dismissed,” and “favorable personnel actions” involving alleged offenders are “appropriately considered in circumstances where the preliminary or a subsequent investigation does not indicate that the complaint is likely to be substantiated.”
Additionally, the review will look to ensure “administrative and/or disciplinary actions against personnel who knowingly submit false complains are appropriately considered, pursuant to applicable laws and regulations.”
Neither the memo nor Hegseth clarified how extensively it would consider a complaint “false” given the repeated use of “unsubstantiated” in other items.
What Happens Next
Pentagon personnel have been given 45 days to complete the review and report back to Hegseth through the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
The post Hegseth’s New ‘No More Walking on Eggshells’ Pentagon Policy: What To Know appeared first on Newsweek.
