In his first remarks as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth referred to two U.S. military bases by their former Confederate names, appearing to hint that he might possibly restore them.
Speaking to reporters on Monday ― his first day on the job after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate ― the National Guard veteran laid out what he envisions for the Pentagon under Trump’s administration. Hegseth expressed support for the president’s executive orders that would scrap the military’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, reinstate soldiers “who were pushed out because of COVID mandates” and create an Iron Dome-like missile defense system for the United States.
“Every moment that I’m here, I’m thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers,” the former Fox News host said. “Our job is lethality and readiness and war-fighting.”
Fort Benning, as it was formerly known, sits on the Georgia-Alabama border and is home to the Army Infantry School. It was named after Henry L. Benning, a racist judge and Confederate brigadier general who led a Georgia military unit in Gen. John Hood’s division of the Army of Northern Virginia.
“By the time the north shall have attained the power, the black race will be in a large majority, and then we will have black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything,” Benning wrote to the Virginia secession convention in 1861. “Is it to be supposed that the white race will stand for that? It is not a supposable case.”
North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, as it was formerly known, is one of the world’s biggest military bases, home to both the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps and Special Forces Command. The fort, which was first a camp, was named after Braxton Bragg, a slave owner and Confederate leader who is widely considered one of the worst generals of the Civil War.
In 2021, Congress overrode Trump’s veto to pass a law changing the names of all Pentagon assets associated with the Confederacy. Among those were nine U.S. military bases, including Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, which in 2023 were renamed Fort Moore and Fort Liberty, respectively.
Fort Moore was named in honor of Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” Moore and his wife, Julia Moore. Hal Moore served at the fort throughout his military career and fought in both the Korean and Vietnam wars, while Julia Moore’s attention to families of dead soldiers helped reform the Army’s casualty notification process. Both Moores are buried at Fort Moore Cemetery.
Hegseth has not attempted to hide his disdain for the new names, saying it breaks military tradition and should revert back to being named after the treasonous Americans.
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“I emailed my company commander from my infantry training, which was at Fort Benning, which is no longer Fort Benning,” Hegseth told right-wing media figure Ben Shapiro last year. “It’s Fort Moore. And Hal Moore’s a great guy. But like, there’s also a generational link that breaks when you rename Benning and Bragg. Like, where’d you serve? Bragg. Where’d you serve? Benning. Where’d you serve, now Liberty? Like, it’s just, it’s garbage. It’s all, it’s just, let’s just crap all over it.”
On X, Bloomberg reporter Roxana Tiron suggested that Hegseth’s references on Monday were “likely intentional.” Though he could use his position as defense secretary to advocate for reverting the names to Confederate generals, those changes would still require congressional approval.