Nebraska congressman says Hegseth should be replaced as Secretary of Defense

Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon renewed his criticism of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump following recent military actions in the Caribbean and a new report from a Pentagon watchdog, and he once again called for Hegseth to be replaced.

The Pentagon Inspector General’s report on Hegseth’s use of Signal to share plans about an upcoming military strike in Yemen was released to the public Thursday, which said Hegseth’s actions, “created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.”

A spokesperson for Hegseth said the report was a “TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we all knew – no classified information was shared.”

Bacon told reporters Thursday he was troubled by the Pentagon’s response.

“What I expected to hear from the Secretary of Defense was ‘I made a mistake. I was wrong, I learned my lesson, it’ll never happen again.’ But we have not heard that. We just keep hearing a denial,” Bacon said. “I personally think the response is worse than the actual violation. When you don't take responsibility, it's wrong, and it undermines its credibility to lead.”

Bacon also blasted several foreign policy decisions, such as the Pentagon cutting off aid to Ukraine or pulling troops out of Romania without notifying European officials or U.S. Congress.

Bacon said he doesn’t believe Hegseth was prepared for the job.

“I think we should have a new Secretary of Defense,” he said. “I'm not very keen on impeachments. I think the president, I hope, will come to his own mind on this over time, and hopefully see the merit of what I'm saying.”

Bacon also criticized Trump for failing to keep Congress informed about the nation’s military presence near Venezuela.

The U.S. military has amassed warships and troops in the Caribbean Sea and designated Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuelan government as a terrorist organization.

Bacon, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said he hasn’t been briefed on the topic and has received no contact from the aircraft carrier and Marines off the coast of Venezuela.

“The president needs to tell the American people if there's indeed a planned invasion or a planned operation within Venezuela itself,” Bacon said. “He needs to brief the American people and Congress.”

Following a Washington Post report last week claiming Hegseth ordered Navy Seals to leave no survivors following a drug boat strike off the coast of Venezuela, Bacon said he wanted to get the facts before drawing any conclusions.

Thursday, Bacon said a New York Times article and testimony from the Navy admiral who ordered the strikes cleared up the Post’s allegations, but he said he would still like to see Hegseth brief Congress himself.

“I think we got to the truth today, largely,” Bacon said. “We got the three star that was in charge of that operation, and he made clear, the Secretary did not give orders to kill everybody, to do the second strike.”

Bacon said Trump should go through Congress before continuing strikes on drug boats but said there would be general support from his colleagues for the mission.

“[The Trump administration] provided a written justification of the legal basis for doing these boats,” Bacon said. “But I think we'd also like to know the intelligence. How do we know these boats are carrying narcotics? Because we want to ensure that the right people are being targeted.”

Bacon added that it would be smart to have a hearing on whether targeting the survivors of the drug boat strikes was within the rules of engagement to bring greater clarity for U.S. troops.