CNN
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses and Chairman Chief of Staff Dan Kane approached a pair of lectures at the Pentagon Briefing Room Sunday morning, detailing President Donald Trump’s most important military operations during his tenure.
Hegustes was first praised, praised his boss, blessed the celebration, and was thrust into the pocket of an American flag tucked into his lapel, the moment he was made for television. He described Operation Midnight Hammer as an “overwhelming success” at the Fordow nuclear site, “destroying Iran’s nuclear program” and “achieving the destruction of capabilities.”
Dressed in military uniform, Kane provided calm and meticulous details and a timeline of strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. He urged patience, saying that the battle damage assessment was “still pending and it would be too early to comment on what may or may not be there yet.”
The moment highlighted Trump’s duel approach as the best military officials, and sources that are described as core differences between the two men.
A stagecraft enthusiast, Trump has long told the importance of welcoming staff straight from “central casting.” Former Fox news anchor Hegseth played a visible role when the president deliberated on our involvement. The opportunity he came after his first few months at work was smashed by signal group chat scandals and upheavals among his staff.
At the same time, Kane has emerged as a subtle but trustworthy advisor. And what he cherished behind closed doors was a qualities Kane demonstrated on Sunday as Trump scrunched his presidency’s biggest decision.
Kane was among a small group of aides Trump had relied on as he was presented with a military option to target Iran’s nuclear program.
US Central Commander General Michael Cleela, along with special envoys from CIA director John Ratcliffe and Middle Eastern Steve Witkoff, became Trump’s important voice on the issue.
Hegseth was personally skeptical of inflating US military involvement overseas, but in recent months it has been largely postponed by Kurilla, a current and former official told CNN.
During US military operations on Yemen’s Hoosis earlier this year, Kurira’s influence on Hegses was often the point of conflict among more non-interventionist members of the Pentagon’s Chief’s inner circle.
The US Central Command, responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, conveys greater sense of urgency than the civilian intelligence community regarding Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
With Israeli attacks on Iran earlier this month, Central Command believed that if Tehran sprints towards its target, Tehran could get a more quickly available nuclear weapon.
And Hegus was present at the National Security Conference at the White House related to Iran, and at the meeting at Camp David, Trump led potential US involvement options leaning against Kane and Kleela.
Hegseth also received an internal reputation as an aide with a primary purpose: to please Trump.
“If at the end of the day, if you feel like the president wants something, you know, or in some way, he’ll just roll over,” said a source familiar with Hegses.
Still, White House officials said Trump deliberated on actions, “frequently briefings” the president throughout the process, and “closely involved” leading up to a major call at 4pm on Saturday.
“The administration also continued to actively pursue diplomacy with Iran, but Secretary Hegses called the president and gave him the final option to advance the strike yesterday. He checked in with the president and was given that final Go-Aard, which was given at 4am yesterday,” officials told CNN on Sunday.
And, White House Press Director Caroline Leavitt, highlighted the impact of Hegses on the operation, telling CNN:
Hegus’ visibility into this mission offers a significant change from just two months ago. This provides a marked change from just two months before he was caught up in the regime’s first self-inducing scandal after sharing detailed plans for a military operation against Houtis in Yemen, including one thread that includes his wife and brother.
Some of Hegses’ closest advisers then sounded alarm about the secretary’s judgment and operational safety, including the firing of his former spokesman John Uriott and three former senior officials Hegses.
Urit accused CNN of describing it as “complete confusion at the Pentagon,” but Trump defended Hegses at the time, holding the media and “disgruntled employees” accountable.
secy. Hegseth denies media for “dissatisfied former employee” in second signal scandal
Hegseth is sticking to behind-the-scenes leaks, and those familiar with the issue said they are plaguing some White House officials.
Sources told CNN at the time that Trump personally asked for feedback on Hegses’ performance but was hesitant to reject him.
“I think he’s going to do that together,” Trump said of Hegses in an April interview with the Atlantic.
“I talked to him, I talked to him, I talked to him,” Trump said, adding that Hegses’ work is “safe.”
White House officials dismissed the idea that Hegses had changed in height with Trump during the first months of his second term.
“He has always had a position with the president on these issues. He has the greatest confidence in Secretary Hegustes,” the official said.
A few months later, Operation Midnight Hammer was praised by military experts for its operational safety and lack of a spectacular leak. And Heggs became one of the main faces of the strike.
Hegses, a White House official, added: “He was an absolute key player in carrying out this mission.”
When Trump addressed the country on Saturday night, he was adjacent to Hegses, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Secretary of Defense was depicted in an official photo of the Situation Room released by the White House. And he was the first administration official to speak publicly after the president, joining Kane for a press conference that Sunday morning.
“It was an incredibly overwhelming success. The orders received from the Chief’s commander were focused. It was strong and obvious,” he announced “a bold and visionary leadership” at the Pentagon on Sunday.
He continued. “Many presidents dream of taking a final blow to Iran’s nuclear program, and no one could do it until President Trump. President Trump was bold and showed the world that America’s deterrence has returned.
Kevin Liptak and Haley Britzky of CNN contributed to this report.