Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell ousted in probe into leaks
By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press
Apr 15, 2025, 06:15 PM
Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been placed on administrative leave, according to The Associated Press. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been placed on administrative leave and was escorted out of the Pentagon by security on Tuesday, two defense officials said.
The officials said Caldwell’s sudden downfall was tied to an investigation into unauthorized disclosure of department information. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Caldwell, who served in the Marine Corps, was one of several senior advisers who worked closely with Hegseth. Caldwell’s ties to the secretary go back to Hegseth’s time as the head of Concerned Veterans for America, a nonprofit that fell into financial difficulty during his time there. Caldwell worked at CVA beginning in 2013 as policy director and later as executive director.
He also was the staff member designated as Hegseth’s point person in the Signal messaging chat that top Trump administration national security officials, including Hegseth, used to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen. The chat, set up by national security adviser Michael Waltz, included a number of top Cabinet members and came to light because Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, was added to the group.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/04/15/pentagon-senior-adviser-dan-caldwell-ousted-in-probe-into-leaks/
