Just four days after Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon, tragedy struck.
A U.S. Army helicopter crashed in a midair collision late Wednesday night with an American Airlines passenger plane outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
As the newly confirmed secretary of defense, Hegseth posted on X that the department was “actively monitoring” the situation and “poised to assist if needed.” A later statement from Hegseth said an investigation had been “launched immediately by the Army and DoD” into the incident.