Pete Hegseth Accused Of Holding 'Grudge' Against Army After the Defense Sec. Boots High-Profile General — 'Is This a Personal Thing?'
Pete Hegseth may have a 'grudge' against the army, according to one senator.
June 29 2026, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Pete Hegseth is now being accused of holding a "grudge" against the Army, RadarOnline.com can reveal, after a high-profile general was given the boot.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine made the bold claim during an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation, accusing the Defense Sec. of making things personal.
Tim Kaine on Pete Hegseth: 'Is This a Personal Thing?'
Hegseth has been accused of having a 'grudge' against the Army.
“Are you pushing out the truth-tellers to surround yourself by yes-men?" Kaine asked during the interview on Sunday, June 28. "And in particular, it looks like the secretary is coming down hardest… on the Army. He served in the Army; he felt like he wasn't treated well by the Army; that's a grudge he's carried that he's described publicly."
Kaine added, "And so, when you see Army officers forced out, you've got to wonder, is this a personal thing, or is it really what's best for the nation?"
The 68-year-old's comments come after notable Army General Christopher Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, was given a pink slip.
The U.S. Army confirmed the firing in a statement, noting that Donahue will "relinquish command" on July 2. Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, his deputy, will "perform the duties of the commanding general."
Pete Hegseth's Tattoo Drama
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine questioned whether Hegseth's recent firings is 'personal.'
"The Army thanks Gen. Donahue for his leadership of U.S. Army Europe and Africa," an Army spokesperson said at the time. However, the ousting led to plenty of pushback from the GOP, especially from Sen. Thom Tillis, who labeled the surprising decision a "weak" move.
"Strong leaders are not threatened by accomplished commanders. Weak ones are," the politician wrote on X following the firing. "His paranoid micromanagement of senior military leaders and promotion lists is pure insecurity dressed up as reform. He is more interested in purging people he perceives as insufficiently loyal than empowering proven patriots who can actually lead."
The former Fox News star has opened up about his time in the Army, once claiming he was banned from participating in Joe Biden's inauguration because of his Jerusalem cross tattoo, which Hegseth once described as "a Christian symbol."
He said in 2024, "I was in the National Guard during the inauguration of Joe Biden, so I served under (George W.) Bush, served under (Barack) Obama, served under (Donald) Trump, and now was going to guard the inauguration because I was in the D.C. guard."
Pete Hegseth's Firing Spree Nightmare
The former Fox News star one raged over being disciplined by the military over his controversial tattoos.
"Ultimately, members of my unit in leadership deemed that I was an extremist or a white nationalist because of a tattoo I have, which is a religious tattoo. It's a Jerusalem cross. Everybody can look it up, but it was used as a premise to revoke my orders to guard the inauguration," Hegseth raged.
The 46-year-old also noted in his book, The War on Warriors, that the military went "woke," and wrote, "Do I want my kids to serve?This is a family business in many ways, and we need patriots serving if we're going to preserve our military."
Hegseth would retire from the military following the incident, as he wrote in his book. "The military I loved, I fought for, I revered, spit me out."
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Defense has been drowning in hot water after recently going on a firing spree, kicking out military figures including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, who lost his job in April, the head of the Navy, John Phelan, and General William Green Jr., the Chief Army Chaplain.
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The 46-year-old's time as Defense Sec. has been rocky, with many pushing back on his decisions.
George is said to have been fired after he reportedly refused to obey Hegseth's instruction to eliminate officers – two Black men and two women – from a list of people up for a possible promotion, which Hegseth has denied at a Senate Armed Services Committee.
The terminations reportedly have created a brutal work environment.
"Everything we did on a daily basis, we were calculating, 'Is this going to keep the boss employed, or is this going to get him fired?'" one Pentagon official previously told CNN. "Every single day, every decision that we made, that was a planning factor. … It's very unusual for that to be considered so heavily."
Hegseth has also been accused of not trusting his officials, as one source claimed, "A year-plus later, there is a lack of clear internal processes within the Pentagon," which is "caused by mass paranoia."
