Dan Caldwell, top Hegseth adviser, put on leave amid Pentagon leak probe
Dan Caldwell, a key adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been placed on leave following an investigation into unauthorized disclosures at the Pentagon.
Dan Caldwell, one of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s senior advisers, has been placed on administrative leave as part of an ongoing investigation into leaks within the Department of Defense (DoD).
Caldwell was escorted out of the Pentagon on April 15, 2025, after being identified in connection to an unauthorized disclosure of national security information.
Caldwell’s role in the Pentagon leak case
Caldwell has served as a key adviser to Hegseth since February. However, his name became of interest when Pete Hegseth named Caldwell as the primary point of contact for the National Security Council in a leaked text chain.
An anonymous U.S. official confirmed that Caldwell was placed on administrative leave for "an unauthorized disclosure," yet, it is still unknown whether this disclosure was to the press or someone else.
Caldwell's controversial views and background
Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, is well known for his isolationist views, which did not sit exactly right among Washington's circles.
His stance on the Iraq war is that America would have been better if the troops had stayed home. He called the Iraq war "a monstrous crime," in an interview with Financial Times in December 2024.