NEWPORT, R.I. — Pete Hegseth, who runs the Pentagon under the title Secretary of War, is expected on Monday at the Naval War College in Newport, where he will speak to the school’s faculty and the officers and civilians enrolled there, according to an advisory his department issued Sunday.
Department officials have not released the subject of the talk, and no details on timing beyond the Monday date were included in the advisory. Anyone hoping to watch can find a stream through the department’s social media accounts and its website, the advisory said.
The Newport stop is notable for its timing. It is the first public event on Hegseth’s schedule since the 2026 midterm elections, which handed Democrats majorities in the House and the Senate. Those results set up a new balance of power in Washington for the military budget and oversight of the department in the coming year.
The appearance also follows an announcement by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, that he intends to reintroduce impeachment articles against Hegseth over the war against Iran. Massie has not said when he will file them or how many members might sign on.
Hegseth has been to Rhode Island once already in 2026. In February he visited the Electric Boat submarine plant in Quonset, and that tour brought protesters out to the site.
Monday’s talk gives Newport, home to one of the Navy’s main schools for senior leaders, a front-row seat to whatever message the secretary chooses to deliver to the next generation of military commanders.
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