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Hegseth Purges Defense Advisory Board After MAGA Came For It

On Tucker Carlson’s show, a MAGA loyalist ripped the Defense Policy Board. In short order, Pete Hegseth purged all its members.

Matt Sledge

April 25 2025, 11:42 a.m.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. The White House said they are expecting thousands of children and adults to participate in the annual tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn, which was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 21, 2025, in Washington. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sacked the members of a Pentagon advisory board after a fired staffer of his lobbed a critique at them in a Tucker Carlson interview.

In a statement Thursday night, a Pentagon spokesperson said that Hegseth had removed members of the Defense Policy Board and other boards on Wednesday after a 45-day review.

The policy board included several members who have argued for wars in the Middle East.

Following the criticisms on Carlson’s show, the Pentagon scrubbed the board’s website this week, The Intercept reported. The Defense Department spokesperson announced the purge hours after The Intercept sent an inquiry about the website.

The policy board’s roster included several members of the foreign policy establishment, such as former Barack Obama aide Susan Rice, and former George W. Bush Pentagon under secretary Eric Edelman, who have previously argued for wars in the Middle East.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell’s statement implied that the shake-up — which was like one executed by Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he came into office — had long been in the works as part of the review.

“Secretary Hegseth appreciates the members’ efforts on behalf of the department and the United States of America, but changes are needed to support the new strategic direction and policy priorities of the department and to ensure departmental resources are used efficiently,” Parnell said.

The review had called on Pentagon leaders overseeing the boards to write a memo explaining whether their work aligned with “the President’s goals and my priorities of restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military. and reestablishing deterrence.”

The announcement was only made however, after fired Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell’s interview with Carlson racked up millions of views on X and was amplified by right-wing influencers such as retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn.

In the interview, Caldwell complained that the advisory board was stacked with people “incredibly hostile” to President Donald Trump. He suggested that his abrupt termination was tied to power struggles between hawks pushing for war with Iran and staffers skeptical of foreign entanglements such as himself.

Hegseth, in a memo dated Wednesday and released Thursday, said that Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg could retain board members as needed for national security reasons.

The Pentagon has not announced the new membership of the Defense Policy Board or other advisory bodies like the Defense Business Board.