Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a National Guardsman before becoming a Fox News weekend host, has repeatedly blamed “woke” and “weak” military leaders for imposing overly restrictive rules of engagement that, he believes, cost U.S. lives and prolonged America’s “forever” wars. Since taking office, Hegseth has been an ardent supporter of Donald Trump’s expanded use of troops in U.S. cities and his aggressive immigration operations. When federal immigration agents surged into Minneapolis, Hegseth put troops on prepare-to-deploy orders in North Carolina and Alaska. Trump has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to conduct law-enforcement activities.