Sen. Thom Tillis has likened a self-promotional video from Pete Hegseth to the misstep that ended Kristi Noem’s run at Homeland Security. The criticism lands as reports suggest President Donald Trump may replace the defense secretary, and as watchdogs question whether the Pentagon broke federal law.
Why Sen. Thom Tillis compared Hegseth’s video to Kristi Noem’s controversy
Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who retires in January, spoke out, addressing the defense secretary by name. “@PeteHegseth, cabinet secretaries shouldn’t be wasting taxpayer dollars on campaign style videos. Kristi Noem learned that the hard way,” wrote on X. Essentially, warning that Hegseth is repeating the error that cost Noem her job as Homeland Security secretary.
For those not in the know, Hegseth released a five-minute message while speculation about his future grew. He praises himself, pays warm tribute to Trump, criticizes Democrats and raises cultural grievances.
He also defends the war with Iran and urges Republicans to approve a large Pentagon budget proposal. His office confirmed to The Washington Post that Defense Department staff recorded and produced the video. It declined to say what the video cost or whether it met legal and ethical standards.
Now, Donald K. Sherman, president of the nonpartisan group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told the Post the video crosses several lines. “The pro-Trump and self-laudatory remarks in the video are clear violations of the ban on using federal funds for propaganda,” he said.
He added, “The specific and repeated mentions of funding bills violates the anti-lobbying statute, and the blatant effort to oppose the Democrats’ agenda for accountability is a potential violation of the Hatch Act.”
Federal law bars public money from paying for “publicity or propaganda purposes,” including messages that are “purely partisan.” Agencies can still buy ads, but only for causes such as public health awareness or military recruitment, and those ads must remain nonpartisan.
But the U.S. Office of Special Counsel normally investigates suspected Hatch Act violations. An inquiry looks unlikely, though, because Trump removed the agency’s chief early in his second term.
