The U.S. secretary of defense previously addressed allegations of excessive drinking during his January 2025 Senate confirmation hearing.

At last week’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels, newly minted U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that the position of the U.S. government was that Ukraine will not join NATO.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths first overseas trip stirred controversy, particularly in Europe, due to his remarks on Ukraine and NATO, but earned praise from President Donald Trump. During his visit to Belgium,

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth holds a news conference after a meeting with NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

Hegseth made the initial comment during a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, clearly stating that the U.S. "does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky is vowing that his war-torn nation isn’t accepting any deals made between Russia and the U.S. without his involvement. Mixed messaging from Trump, Vance, and Hegseth makes the future of Ukraine’s NATO membership uncertain.

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has the latest on the Trump administration’s approach to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s controversial Brussels speech on ‘Special Report.

President Trump discussed his talk with Russian President Putin to end the war in Ukraine, saying a negotiation "hasn't really started." Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor Zu Guttenberg joins Ana Cabrera to react to Trump's comments on Ukraine joining NATO.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday he stands by his comments from Brussels earlier this week on it being unrealistic for Ukraine to be offered NATO membership as part of a settlement, for it to regain its pre-2014 territory,

In just one speech by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week, the most powerful member of NATO has thrown the world’s biggest military alliance into disarray, raising troubling questions about America’s commitment to European security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the 61st Munich Security Conference on Feb. 15 in Munich, Germany. Photo: Sean Gallup/)

Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker has said Pete Hegseth made a “rookie mistake” in his comments about Ukraine in a speech at NATO HQ. Pro-Ukraine Wicker, who backed Hegseth when allegations that he liked to drink on the job surfaced,