Defense &
National Security
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Defense &
National Security
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday visited Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to see U.S. migrant detention operations up close, amid reports that the Trump administration is struggling with tent structures built there. |
Hegseth - who traveled to the Navy installation with no pooled press, instead bringing former Fox News colleague Laura Ingraham - toured detention facilities and spoke with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as well as Marines running the base’s Migrant Operations Center, according to videos and images posted to the Pentagon chief’s official X account.
The Pentagon provided few other details of the trip, but social media posts revealed that Hegseth arrived at Guantánamo shortly before a cargo plane carrying migrants landed at the installation. In a video of Hegseth and Ingraham speaking with a two-star Army general, the plane can be seen in the background. “I was able to witness a grey-tail arrival of illegal aliens at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay,” Hegseth said in the post to X. He also posted a photo of himself having lunch with members of the Joint Task Force Southern Guard, made up of ICE agents and service members who staff the operation.
“These warriors are directly supporting the apprehension and deportation of dangerous illegal aliens,” Hegseth wrote. “We cannot thank them or their families enough.”
President Trump last month ordered the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to set up the naval base to house migrants before they are deported to their home countries.
The effort has been bumpy, with confusion over who is the lead, conflicting messages as to what will happen to migrants once they arrive and halted efforts to place migrants in tent structures built the base due to concerns that they don’t meet ICE detention standards, CNN reported. Trump administration officials said it would build tents to house an anticipated 30,000 people transferred there from the U.S., but those erected so far are currently not being used because they lack air conditioning or electricity.
On Tuesday, DHS and DOD were housing 17 men - eight of whom were taken into custody by ICE after Trump took office - who officials say are designated for deportation. They included seven men from Honduras, four from Colombia, three from El Salvador, two from Guatemala and one from Ecuador, The New York Times reported. The base, since Feb. 4, has been used to hold foreign citizens removed from the United States, and so far, has held 178 other men, all Venezuelans, according to the Times.
Hegseth’s visit is his first since being sworn in as Pentagon chief. He previously was deployed to the base as an Army lieutenant in 2004-5 while serving in an infantry unit of the New Jersey National Guard. |
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
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How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: |
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In one broad stroke Friday evening, President Trump axed six senior Pentagon officials in a move never before seen in U.S. history. The Trump administration, pushing back against Democrats, journalists and former military officials who have called the purge “unprecedented,” defended the decision by citing past examples of presidents sacking top military brass. But experts say there is no record of so many top military leaders … |
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday rejected a reporter’s question that suggested President Trump’s pick for the new Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, Dan Caine, was not qualified for the position. Trump on Friday removed Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., a four-star general, as chair of the Joint Chiefs, replacing him with the three-star general Caine. It was part of a broader purge of Pentagon posts made by Trump. … |
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Stephen Feinberg, President Trump’s pick to be deputy secretary of Defense, declined to say during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday whether Russia invaded Ukraine. In separate exchanges with Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Feinberg suggested he did not want to risk undermining the Trump administration’s position in negotiations by commenting publicly on the matter. “There’s a very tense negotiation … |
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The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Daniel Driscoll, an Army 1st lieutenant-turned-businessman, as President Trump’s Army secretary. He most recently served as a senior adviser to Vice President Vance. Driscoll, 38, received bipartisan support during his confirmation hearing late last month and was confirmed in a 66-28 vote in the full Senate. Vance read out the results. The new secretary served in the Army for … |
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Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba today, where he toured the facilities and spoke to officials. The base is being used for the Trump administration’s migrant detention operations
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit the White House on Friday to sign a minerals deal.
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President Trump is set to hold a meeting Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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Trump pitches ‘gold card’ as replacement for EB5 investor visa |
The Trump administration said Tuesday that it would be revamping the U.S. investor visa, increasing the funds required to secure the status while dubbing the new option a “gold card.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters in the Oval Office that the Trump administration would … |
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Events in and around the defense world: |
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The International Institute for Strategic Studies will hold a virtual discussion on “Space Capabilities to Support Military Operations in the European Theater,” at 4 a.m.
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The National Defense Industrial Association will host its Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Conference, at 8 a.m.
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The Center for Strategic and International Studies will have a virtual discussion on “The Evolving Role of the Private Sector in National Defense,” at 9 a.m.
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The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on “Strengthening America’s Defense Industrial Base, Workforce, and Production Lines to Deter War,” at 10 a.m.
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A House Armed Services subpanel will hear from defense officials on “The Role of Special Operations in Great Power Competition,” at 1:30 p.m.
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Hudson Institute will host a book discussion: Seven Things You Can’t Say about China, with author Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); at 5:30 p.m.
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News we've flagged from other outlets: |
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Iron Dome for America gets a golden makeover (Military Times)
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Billionaire nominee for deputy defense secretary grilled on plans to slash staff, budget (Military.com)
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US halts plan to house migrants in tents at Guantanamo amid concerns over conditions (CNN)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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House Republicans adopted the budget resolution that will lay the foundation for enacting President Trump’s legislative agenda Tuesday night, … Read more |
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House GOP leaders brought their budget resolution to the floor for the vote, just minutes after pulling it at the last minute Tuesday evening as they … Read more |
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Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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