Amid leadership shakeup, Hegseth addresses Army convention

Amid leadership shakeup, Hegseth addresses Army convention

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed a major Army convention Wednesday amid a leadership shake-up in the military’s largest branch.

Speaking for more than an hour , he defended his 20 percent cut to general officers at the Pentagon and once again called on Congress to pass President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget.

Iran war protesters interrupted Hegseth several times during his remarks to the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) in Washington, D.C., as he listed off the department’s efforts to purchase more drones and other systems.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, who is Hegseth’s preferred pick for Army Secretary , introduced the panel of top service officials.

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink and Derrick Anderson, the assistant secretary of Defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict — who was floated by some officials as a potential candidate to be the next Army secretary — appeared alongside Hegseth, where they also touched on acquisition reform and cutting red tape within the Pentagon.

My colleague Filip Timotija watched Hegseth’s speech and has the five main takeaways .

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