When Lies Lead: The Hegseth Controversy and the Farce of 'Merit-Based' Leadership

Today, we witnessed what may be one of the most reckless breaches of national security by a sitting Secretary of Defense in modern U.S. history. According to a report in The Atlantic and confirmed by the NSC spokesperson, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth—yes, the current SecDef—was actively using a private Signal group chat to discuss sensitive war planning details related to this past weekend’s airstrike against Houthi targets in Yemen.

DEI Hire SECDEF

This Signal thread reportedly included top officials and, most alarmingly—a journalist whose presence was unknown to others in the chat. While the journalist did not publish any classified material, the fact that war plans were shared in an unsecured chat—with a press member silently observing—represents a colossal failure of judgment and leadership.

And what was the response from Secretary Hegseth?

No accountability.

No transparency.

He lied.

He publicly attacked the journalist as a “discredited political hack” and a “liar.”

All while the National Security Council confirmed the messages were authentic.

This Is Not Just Poor Judgment—It’s Dangerous

Secretary Hegseth, entrusted with overseeing the most powerful military on earth, chose to manage operational war planning—decisions involving real lives and real consequences—through a group chat better suited for memes and MAGA talking points.

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a minor lapse in protocol. This was about deliberate, insecure communication regarding a live military operation, shared like another story pitch on Fox & Friends. If anyone in uniform had done this, they’d be relieved of duty immediately—if not charged under the UCMJ.

Meritocracy? Spare Us.

The same administration that demonizes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as “undermining merit” appointed this man to the highest civilian military post in the country. And now, in his first real test as SECDEF, he’s failed spectacularly—not just by compromising operational security, but by lying to the American people when caught.

This is what merit looks like now? A man whose qualifications are more ideological than operational? Who treats national defense like a partisan influencer campaign?

It’s rich that DEI is framed as the great threat to readiness, while this is who’s calling the shots—literally and figuratively.

The Real Threat to Readiness

DEI seminars or equity initiatives don’t destroy readiness. It’s destroyed when leaders abuse their position, ignore basic protocols, and drag the Department of Defense into a political spectacle.

It’s destroyed when the Secretary of Defense shares strike plans over Signal with right-wing personalities and then gaslights the nation when the truth gets out.

It’s destroyed when loyalty to the narrative trumps loyalty to the Constitution.

When Lies Lead, We All Lose

This isn’t just a failure of Pete Hegseth. It’s a failure of the system that put him there. A system that prefers propaganda to professionalism. Spectacle to strategy.

We are watching, in real-time, what happens when performance replaces principle at the highest levels of government...when lies lead.

We must ask ourselves: If this is merit-based leadership, what is the metric?

Because from where I’m standing, it looks like the only thing that matters anymore is how loud you’re willing to lie—and how many people you blame when you get caught.