Dear John,

Pete Hegseth poses an immediate threat to women, our democracy, and military families—and he needs to go. Most recently, reporting indicates Hegseth is responsible for the illegal boat strikes that have killed helpless civilians at sea who have not been charged or convicted of any crime. This is murder.

Early on, we warned that he was unfit for Secretary of Defense because of his clear misogynistic, racist, and anti-trans beliefs, and because of the credible sexual assault allegations against him. We understood he was a lawless bully motivated by the desire to hurt and humiliate. Since being confirmed, he has proven us right again and again. His abuses while in office demonstrate the need for proper oversight from Congress. Pete Hegseth must be held accountable for his actions. He must go, and we demand that every Member of Congress call for his removal.

Again and again, Hegseth has proven us right—he is unfit to lead the Department of Defense (DOD). He is:  

• Directly responsible for putting the lives of our service members in danger. Hegseth violated DOD policy and jeopardized the lives of service members by sharing sensitive real-time updates of a military strike through an unsecure messaging app which included a journalist who was accidentally added to the chat.

• Responsible for illegal killing of civilians in international waters. The boat strikes he ordered in the Caribbean without congressional approval are flatly illegal—even if this were an armed conflict, these killings would amount to war crimes.

• Attacking women and transgender service members. Hegseth himself has said "I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is our diversity is our strength," and has systematically worked to marginalize and erase women and transgender service members, including by outright banning transgender people and by making it harder for women to file sex discrimination claims.

• Leading a crusade to end access to health care for service members. He has made it harder for service members to access health care services, including abortion and gender-affirming care.

• Purging of senior officers, as well as legal and ethics experts, targeting women and people of color. This makes our military less effective by eliminating expertise and crucial checks against abuses. 

Pete Hegseth must resign or be removed. It is the duty of Congress to check abuses from the Executive Branch and to hold it accountable when it does. Yet so far, Congress has ignored or rubber stamped every one of the Trump administration’s abuses. We cannot allow this to continue.  

Tell Congress to hold Hegseth accountable for his actions and remove him NOW.

In solidarity,

Emily Martin
She/her
Chief Program Officer
National Women's Law Center