Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brushed aside mounting criticism of his use of the encrypted messaging app Signal, insisting Saturday that he has "no regrets" and framing the controversy as a media-driven distraction from what he calls a revival in U.S. military morale.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., Hegseth was asked about the months-long fallout from reports that sensitive operational details were shared in Signal group chats, a practice the Pentagon’s inspector general has now said placed troops and missions at risk.
The watchdog review, opened earlier this year after revelations tied to airstrike planning, has become a flashpoint for lawmakers who argue official business should be conducted only on secure government systems.
Hegseth’s answer was characteristically defiant.
"I don’t live with any regrets. Not the healthy way to live," he said, making clear he sees no reason to apologize. Instead, he pivoted to a broader defense of his leadership and the administration’s military agenda.
He told the forum he knows "where my compass is on these troops," and said that clarity — paired with President Donald Trump’s posture — is producing what he described as "the revival of the spirit inside our military."
"If you spend time with actual formations of units, Marines, soldiers, combat arms folks,” Hegseth said, you can see that “revival of the spirit" firsthand.
He argued that renewed confidence in civilian leadership is driving enlistment and reenlistment "at historic levels" because service members "believe in what the president is trying to do" and think "he has their back."
The Pentagon has recently pointed to recruiting improvements after several difficult years, though independent analysts note multiple factors are at play.
Hegseth also cast the Signal flap as a familiar Washington drama cycle.
He complained about "stories peddled for months and months," suggesting critics are more interested in cable-news heat than battlefield reality.
"I know something about feeling cable news segments," he quipped, portraying the coverage as overblown and politically motivated.
That framing aligns with the White House line that the Signal investigation has been weaponized by opponents, even as bipartisan critics cite the inspector general’s findings as evidence of reckless handling of sensitive information.
Hegseth did not address the details of the report in his RNDF exchange, nor did he indicate any change in his communications habits.
For now, the secretary appears determined to ride out the controversy by shifting the conversation to troop morale, recruiting, and mission tempo — arguing that results, not apps, are what matter. Whether Congress and the Pentagon’s watchdogs agree is the next fight.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.