A soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery reprimanded Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s group on Veterans Day after loud laughter broke out while they posed for photos in front of the tomb.
Video:
Know what is happening before it hits youThe political news that affects your wallet, your rights and your vote, broken down in plain language. Free in your inbox.
Hegseth had just attended the national Veterans Day ceremony, where Trump laid a wreath at the tomb with Vice President JD Vance also in attendance. Afterward, video shows Hegseth taking pictures on the steps with his wife, Jennifer, his chief of staff, Ricky Buria, his deputy chief of staff, Patrick Weaver, and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh. As the group broke from the photos, a loud laugh rang out. The sentinel on duty shouted, “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.”
Hegseth did not acknowledge the guard. He glanced over his shoulder and kept walking up the stairs. The footage does not make clear who in the group laughed or whether Hegseth was one of them.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the sentinel responded correctly and maintained that Hegseth and the department have always honored the sacrifices of service members.
So what is the Unknown Soldier, and why can a guard check a cabinet secretary? The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier holds the remains of an American soldier from World War I whose identity was never known. He was buried at Arlington on November 11, 1921, as a stand in for every service member who died without a name. Unknowns from World War II and the Korean War were later laid to rest beside him. A Vietnam War unknown was added in 1984, but DNA testing identified him in 1998 as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, and his family brought him home. That crypt has stayed empty since.
Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, watch over the tomb 24 hours a day, every day, in every kind of weather. Visitors are expected to stay quiet and respectful, and the sentinels are trained to call out anyone who isn’t. They do it for tourists and school groups, and on Wednesday they did it for the group around the man who runs the Pentagon. The rule is the same for everyone.
The timing made the moment land even harder for Hegseth. One day earlier, the House voted 211 to 204 to send an impeachment resolution against him to committee, which effectively killed it without a vote on the charges themselves. Impeachment is the process Congress uses to formally charge a federal official with misconduct, and it starts in the House. The resolution, filed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, targeted how Hegseth has carried out the war in Iran and military hostilities in Yemen, Venezuela and the Caribbean.
Hegseth spent that morning calling the push “a farce” and “a stunt.” He also claimed the resolutions told service members on the eve of Veterans Day that “their service was a crime.” After the vote, Trump called the result an exoneration.
Democrats did not wait long after Wednesday’s reprimand. Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin said the moment showed Hegseth’s “utter lack of fitness for his office.” “One day after narrowly avoiding impeachment, he shows his contempt for our men and women in uniform by disrespecting the sanctity of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” she wrote. VoteVets, a progressive veterans group, called it a disgrace and renewed its call for Hegseth to be removed.
