Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday following his identification in an ongoing investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense, a U.S. official told Reuters.
According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Caldwell was placed on administrative leave due to “an unauthorized disclosure.” This development has not been previously reported. The official added that the investigation is still active but did not specify the nature of the alleged leak, including whether it was directed to the media or another party.
The Trump administration has taken an aggressive stance on unauthorized disclosures, a campaign strongly supported by Hegseth since his appointment as Defense Secretary. A memo dated March 21 and signed by Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, called for an inquiry into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications.” The memo also left open the possibility of administering polygraph tests, though it is unclear whether Caldwell was subjected to one.
While not widely known publicly, Caldwell has served as a key adviser to Hegseth. His significance was highlighted in a Signal text thread leaked to The Atlantic last month, in which Hegseth named Caldwell as the primary staff liaison with the National Security Council during preparations for U.S. airstrikes against Houthi forces in Yemen.
Caldwell has previously attracted attention in Washington for his non-interventionist stance—criticized by some as isolationist, but defended by supporters as a push to recalibrate U.S. defense priorities. A Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, Caldwell had expressed strong views on past U.S. military engagements. In a December 2024 interview with the Financial Times, he said, “I think the Iraq war was a monstrous crime,” and argued that the U.S. would have been better off keeping its troops at home.
He has also voiced skepticism about U.S. military aid to Ukraine and advocated for a reduced American presence in Europe.
Caldwell’s administrative leave appears to be unrelated to a broader purge of senior military leadership that has taken place under Hegseth’s tenure. Since assuming his role in January, Hegseth—a former Fox News host and combat veteran—has overseen the removal of several top officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy’s top admiral, the head of U.S. Cyber Command, and the military’s top legal officers. Last week, Reuters was first to report the dismissal of the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee.
REF:REUTERS
