(José Niño, Headline USA) The ouster of Dan Caldwell from the Pentagon may have been triggered by a leak investigation—but to many inside Trump world, it looks more like the sidelining of a dissenting voice within the administration.
Dan Caldwell, a senior advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a prominent advocate for foreign policy restraint, was placed on administrative leave and escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday as part of an investigation into sensitive leaks coming from the Defense Department.
While the official reason cites unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information, Caldwell’s removal is seen by realist foreign policy advocates as emblematic of deeper ideological rifts within Donald Trump’s second-term foreign policy team.
Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, JD Vance and Susie Wiles helped shut down Israel/USA joint attack on Iran — NY Times
This probably explains why three of Hegseth's aides have now been fired for supposed "leaks"–internal knife fighting is intensifying. pic.twitter.com/j5QNrO1ERc
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) April 17, 2025
Caldwell is a former Marine and Iraq War veteran whose battlefield experience turned him into a vocal critic of U.S. interventionism.
After earning a degree from Arizona State University in 2011, he joined the realist foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities, where he became a leading voice for scaling back America’s overseas military commitments, per a report by the Associated Press.
Caldwell has described the Iraq War, in which he served in, as a “monstrous crime” and has repeatedly argued for a reduced U.S. presence in the Middle East.
His criticisms of bipartisan foreign policy orthodoxy positioned him as a prominent voice for realism and restraint in the Trump administration.
In his role as senior advisor to Hegseth, Caldwell reportedly influenced key Pentagon appointments and shaped the department’s approach to conflicts in Ukraine and Yemen.
Caldwell’s removal comes on the heels of the “Signalgate” scandal. Last month, Defense Secretary Hegseth inadvertently revealed sensitive operational details in a Signal chat with top officials — and journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who had been mistakenly included in the group. Caldwell was identified as the Pentagon’s primary liaison with the White House on U.S. strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Politico reported that this episode prompted an internal probe into broader leaks concerning Pentagon operations, including naval deployments, intelligence activities, and a controversial visit by Elon Musk to the Pentagon itself. On March 21, Hegseth’s chief of staff authorized polygraph testing as part of the probe.
Caldwell and deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick were both placed on administrative leave on Tuesday and escorted from the Pentagon. Neither the White House nor the Defense Department has publicly commented on their status.
Caldwell’s departure is the latest in a string of high-level Pentagon exits under Hegseth, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the top Navy admiral, and the head of U.S. Cyber Command.
The shakeups suggest a reconfiguration of the defense establishment, one that may be drifting away from the foreign policy doctrine of restraint Caldwell championed.
One X/Twitter user, Shadow of Ezra, observed that “Caldwell didn’t toe the usual line on foreign policy. He openly challenged the Washington consensus on Israel, saying the U.S. hasn’t had an honest conversation on the topic in over two decades.”
“He also opposed dragging America into war with Iran, famously stating that when Israel is attacked, it’s Israel—not America—under fire,” the X user added.
Dan Caldwell, a top advisor to Defense Chief Pete Hegseth, was escorted out of the Pentagon after being named in a Department of Defense leaks investigation.
Caldwell didn’t toe the usual line on foreign policy. He openly challenged the Washington consensus on Israel, saying the… pic.twitter.com/O2ZoVSNmXd
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) April 15, 2025
For supporters of an America First foreign policy of realism and restraint, Caldwell’s exit is a blow, but not necessarily a resounding defeat.
As tensions continue to mount globally, the debate over how much the United States should project power abroad remains unsettled and dissenting voices within the Trump administration will continue to make their case against their more hawkish counterparts.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
