Pentagon

A Pentagon Good Friday service that excluded a Catholic observance is drawing new scrutiny toward Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, adding to growing criticism over his leadership decisions, including the firing of senior military officials and concerns about stalled promotions affecting women and Black officers.

In the same week that Donald Trump said the federal government could not afford to "take care of day care" or programs such as Medicare and Medicaid because "we're fighting wars," the President asked Congress for a record $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget, a proposal that would increase defense spending by about 42% and open a new political fight over domestic priorities as the costs of the war in Iran keep climbing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing growing concern within the military as chaplains and senior officials warn that his religious framing of the Iran war is creating an environment where dissent is discouraged and may carry professional consequences.

This summer, Mexico will host more than a dozen matches of the 2026 World Cup across three cities. Currently, the State Department advises Americans traveling to Mexico to exercise increased caution due to terrorism, crime and kidnapping.

Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said he won't support authorizing an additional $200 billion for the war in Iran following reports that the Pentagon is seeking the sum.

A top Pentagon official didn't rule out the possibility of using ground troops to take on cartels in Latin America.

The Pentagon is preparing to test a high-energy laser system designed to counter drones near the U.S.-Mexico border after two recent incidents in which similar systems were used to shoot down what later turned out to be a U.S. government drone and a party balloon.

The U.S. naval deployment centered on Venezuela since August has cost more than $20 million per day and as much as nearly $3 billion overall, according to an analysis.

The high-energy laser used to shoot down a party balloon was used by Customs and Border Protection with the approval of the Pentagon, according to a new report.

U.S. military planners timed a cyberattack that cut power across large parts of Caracas in the early hours of Jan. 3 to support a pre-dawn raid to capture Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro while limiting risks to civilians, according to a new report.

The U.S. military used a secret plane painted to look like a civilian aircraft to conduct its first attack against an alleged drug vessel last September, according to a new report.

Maj Gen Paul Eaton warned The Guardian that loyalty tests and firings risk lasting damage to the U.S. military's independence for years to come

The U.S. military carried out strikes on three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing eight people and bringing the total death toll in the campaign to at least 95.

Admiral Alvin Holsey, the head of U.S. Southern Command, retired Friday roughly two years earlier than expected, handing over authority as U.S. military operations in Latin America draw increased scrutiny and tensions with Venezuela intensify.

The Pentagon sought to ensure that survivors of strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific were sent outside the U.S. to avoid having to justify the Trump administration's strategy before the courts, according to a new report.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly launched a profanity-laced tirade against an adviser who spoke against the strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, according to a new report.

Legal experts are challenging the Trump administration's basis for a series of lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, warning that the operations may violate both domestic and international law.

The two survivors of a strike against an alleged drug boat were trying to salvage some of the cargo before being hit a second time, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed sensitive operational information about U.S. airstrikes in Yemen using the encrypted messaging app Signal, raising concerns that he may have put American personnel and missions at risk, according to a Pentagon report.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should leave his post if it's confirmed that he was involved in the decision to conduct a second strike against survivors of a first attack against an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean.

Commentator Megyn Kelly defended the second strike conducted by U.S. forces in the Caribbean in September to finish off survivors of an alleged drug boat as part of the Trump administration's military campaign in the region.

Pentagon officials are reportedly concerned that the Trump administration is throwing an admiral under the bus as scrutiny over a second attack to finish off survivors of an alleged drug boat in September mounts.

A recent report by The New York Times concluded that the U.S. military used a mix of munitions that relied on both drones and piloted aircraft, a shift away from the traditional stop-and-board approach.

In its latest show of military strength in the Western Hemisphere, the Pentagon has ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to head to the Caribbean to support the Trump administration's ongoing counter-narcotics operation, which has been ramping up pressure on Venezuela.

The impromptu gathering of hundreds of U.S. generals in the country next week is expected to be used by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a "show of force" and resemble a "pep rally," according to a new report.

President Trump himself denied last Thursday that his administration is planning a "regime change" in Venezuela but experts consulted by The New York Times claim otherwise

Besides citing all the features available for Maduro inside the bunker, the former Pentagon official said it is protected by Cuban security personnel and directly connects to the presidential hangar

A Pentagon official reportedly said the U.S. attack against a Venezuelan vessel on Tuesday "directly targeted civilians" because even if they were transporting drugs, they would be considered "criminals," not "combatants"

Defense Department officials privately expressed concern about the Trump administration's shifting narratives on the attack against a Venezuelan vessel that killed 11

The Pentagon has restored a 20-foot portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee to the West Point library, three years after a congressionally mandated commission ordered it removed.