Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., an Army Ranger and combat veteran, renewed his call for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s removal in a CNN interview, saying Hegseth is failing to serve the country. Crow shared the clip on X.
Crow: “He’s Not Serving Anybody’s Interests”
“Pete Hegseth has gotta go. Pete Hegseth is not serving your interests. He’s not serving anybody’s interests,” Crow said in the interview. He added on X: “Pete Hegseth is not serving the American people’s interests. He’s got to go.”
Comments Followed Driscoll’s Resignation and Reports of Culture-War Focus
Crow’s remarks came amid renewed scrutiny of Hegseth following Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s Sept. 2 resignation. CNN reported that multiple sources believe Hegseth has damaged the Army’s efforts to modernize by pushing out senior leaders focused on adapting to drone warfare, with one defense official describing Hegseth as preoccupied with “muscles, dudes in dresses, testosterone” rather than substantive reform.
Crow Has Repeatedly Challenged Hegseth in Committee Hearings
Crow’s criticism extends back to an April 29 House Armed Services Committee hearing, Hegseth’s first congressional appearance since the Iran war began, where Crow pressed him on potential conflicts of interest involving Tim Parlatore, a special adviser who maintained a private legal practice while serving at the Pentagon. “Secretary Hegseth, what I’m really concerned about is you purport to have unfaltering loyalty to President Trump, and yet you are continuously going behind his back,” Crow told him during the hearing, according to the Associated Press. Hegseth dismissed the questioning at the time as a “gotcha game.”
Crow Later Said New Reporting Contradicted Hegseth’s Testimony
Crow followed up in a letter posted on his official House website, writing that New York Times reporting “calls into question the veracity of testimony” Hegseth gave the committee regarding Parlatore’s role in senior military promotions. At the April hearing, Hegseth had said of Parlatore, “he doesn’t represent anyone. He’s a legal adviser and always has been.”
Exchange Also Included Dispute Over Adviser’s Security Clearance
During the same hearing, Crow pressed Hegseth on whether Parlatore held a security clearance at the time of his appointment as special adviser. Hegseth did not give a direct date, prompting Crow to accuse him of avoiding the question; Hegseth responded that Crow was “playing a gotcha game like you do on TV.”
Other House Democrats Have Separately Called for Hegseth’s Removal
Crow’s position is shared by at least some Democratic colleagues. Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN this week that “it’s time for the secretary to go,” adding that he had first called for Hegseth’s resignation or firing after the 2025 Signal messaging controversy, in which Hegseth shared military strike plans in a chat that included family members.
Retired General Called Current Pentagon Leadership “Hollow”
Retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner said on the same network that the Pentagon has “a very, very hollow and, quite frankly, a B-minus team leading at the top of the military,” arguing the country is in a “much more dangerous situation” than before Sept. 11, 2001. Manner has publicly opposed Trump since 2016 and endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, a political history that conservative media critics have said was not disclosed by CNN when presenting his comments.
Republican Senator Made Similar Criticism Days Earlier
Crow’s comments follow criticism from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who cast a deciding vote to confirm Hegseth in 2025 and has since said he has “never witnessed more inept management” at the Pentagon, calling on Trump to find new Defense Department leadership.
Crow Previously Questioned Withdrawal of Troops From Germany
In a May appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Crow separately criticized a Hegseth-ordered withdrawal of a U.S. brigade from Germany that the Republican chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services committees said was made without proper coordination with Congress, calling it a violation of bipartisan law governing U.S. troop levels in Europe.
Pentagon Spokesman Has Repeatedly Rejected Claims of Dysfunction
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, whose official title is assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, has pushed back forcefully on similar criticism from other officials. Responding to comments from former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall — a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center for American Progress and a registered Democrat who served under President Joe Biden — Parnell called Kendall’s premise that the department “is in disarray” “completely baseless and an insult to every dedicated professional and warfighter in this building.” On the broader wave of personnel changes, Parnell said, “this is what reform looks like.” Addressing separate reports that deployment extensions and funding strain were hampering operations, Parnell said “every leader across the Pentagon is working as a cohesive unit” and that U.S. troops “have everything they need.”
White House Has Continued to Back Hegseth
Despite the mounting criticism, Trump has continued to publicly support Hegseth, telling Republican lawmakers at a Rose Garden dinner this week that he had spoken with Hegseth by phone during recent U.S. strikes on Iran and praising his handling of the operation. Asked in the Oval Office in August about speculation over a possible Hegseth 2028 presidential run, Trump said, “I think he’s doing a fantastic job, but it’s very early to talk about that.”
Crow Serves on House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees
Crow, who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger and paratrooper, has used his position on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees to press the administration on its handling of the Iran war and Pentagon personnel decisions throughout 2026.