Military recruitment surges under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Military recruitment has surged under the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, with service branches exceeding their goals.

The Army has gained 23,586 active components for the fiscal year 2025, which began in October 2024 and runs through February 2025, surpassing its goal by 115 percent. The Navy surpassed its goal by 105 percent, the Marine Corps by 106 percent, the Air Force by 100 percent, and the Space Force by 100.1 percent.

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade asked, "I think warfighters are happy to have a warfighter up top. With all the controversy, have you ever doubted your decision to take this job?"

"Not for a minute. I have not hesitated," Hegseth said. "The numbers are a reflection of why we are here—the Trump bump. The reality is, when warfighting and lethality are brought back, and what we're doing is serious about getting after soldiers and warfighting, the American people want to come back in and sign up."

"Recruiting numbers don't surprise me. There is a yearning from the American public, from young people, to be proud of their country and military and to make sure when they serve, they are given everything they need. I fought for the budget the Defense Department requires, and the President said we'll have the first trillion-dollar budget. My 14-year-old, if he joins, he'll have a great military—peace through strength. I have not blinked, and I won't blink, because this job is too big and too important for the American people, and I'm grateful."

Hegseth has been the target of multiple reports in recent weeks over his usage of the encrypted messaging platform Signal. In the wake of The Atlantic editor-in-chief's late March report that he was inadvertently added to a group chat alongside senior Trump administration officials where strikes against Houthi rebels were discussed, Hegseth said that "nobody was texting war plans" in the chat.

A report was released by the New York Times in late April claiming that Hegseth discussed detailed information about forthcoming strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in a second Signal chat. In response to that reporting, Hegseth said, "See, this is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputation. Not gonna work with me."

Hegseth told Kilmeade in response to the latest reporting on Signal chats, "This is the second go-around; they peddle old stuff. I said no one is texting war plans." He later added, "What was shared over Signal, then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordination for media and other things."

Hegseth said, "They have come after me from day one, like they have come after President Trump. I've gotten a fraction of what President Trump has endured. It is not hard to do this job. I am here to bring warfighting and a warfighting ethos back to the administration, to not tolerate leakers, achieve 100 percent operational control of the border, and get rid of trans lunacy in the military. We have not backed down."

"People come to Washington and play the game, punch their ticket, get along to go along, do Meet the Press, and go to the Council on Foreign Relations with the cocktail-sipping crowd. That is not why I'm here. I'm here because President Trump asked me to bring warfighting ethos back to the Pentagon every day. If people don't like it, come after me—no worries. I'm standing here, warfighters are behind us, enemies are on notice, and allies know we are behind them. That is what it is all about."