• Dan Caldwell, a top advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was placed on administrative leave. He also had his Pentagon access revoked amid an investigation into unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information, according to government sources.
• Before joining the Pentagon, Caldwell was affiliated with the Koch-funded nonprofit Defense Priorities. The nonprofit advocates for restrained military use — one of the few policy areas aligning Trump and Koch.
• Hegseth has overseen several high-profile dismissals, including Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. and NSA head Gen. Timothy Haugh, alongside plans to cut tens of thousands of civilian jobs.

Dan Caldwell, a top advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been walked out of the Pentagon. Caldwell was reportedly named in an investigation into leaked sensitive information.

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Multiple news outlets are reporting from unnamed government sources that Caldwell’s building access has been removed and that he’s been placed on administrative leave, citing “an unauthorized disclosure.”

Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran, was one of Hegseth’s top confidants in his short time atop the Department of Defense. In a leaked Signal chat, Hegseth tapped Caldwell to be his point of contact to receive updates about a planned strike on Houthi forces in Yemen. 

Department of Defense Chief of Staff Joe Kasper released a memo on March 21 requesting an investigation into unauthorized leaks of information originating inside the Pentagon. 

“Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) demand immediate and thorough investigation,” Kasper said, adding that the use of a polygraph would be deployed in accordance with law and policies.

Kasper noted that anyone found to have been giving away sensitive information would be criminally prosecuted. 

Before his tenure at the Pentagon, Caldwell was a policy advisor at Defense Priorities. The nonprofit advocates for “realism and restraint” in using American military might more judiciously. Critics of that school of thought label it “isolationism.” It’s a part of the Koch-funded network of nonprofits that President Donald Trump has clashed with during his political career. 

Trump, in 2018, called the Koch brothers “a total joke” after the two libertarian-leaning billionaires spoke out about the president’s more populist agenda that included tariffs and strong limitations on immigration. 

Another Koch network organization, Americans for Prosperity, released an ad campaign amid the 2024 presidential primary. It said Trump couldn’t beat former President Joe Biden in the general election. 

On April 3, the New Civil Liberties Alliance – also backed by Koch funding – filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s tariff on China. 

Trump refused to hire anyone with ties to the Koch network of think tanks. However, some individuals with ties to the network have made inroads into the administration. 

Beyond Caldwell, former Charles Koch Institute Vice President William Ruger was appointed to a top position in Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s agency. Ruger will be responsible for preparing the President’s Daily Brief, a daily morning rundown of must-know information given to Trump and a handful of top policy officials. 

The anonymous official didn’t tell Reuters if Caldwell had been leaking information to a journalist or someone else. Despite a presidential administration’s best efforts, news outlets that grant anonymity regularly receive information. Typically, newsrooms allow the practice if publishing a source’s name would result in personal or career retribution.

Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform used an online form to solicit anonymous information from Trump administration staffers. 

“The information provided to Committee Democrats will be kept confidential and used to further our work overseeing potentially illegal efforts by the Administration, conflicts of interests, and any actions that may undermine public trust and safety,” the form reads.

Hegseth has made a number of high-profile firings since his confirmation in late January. 

The most notable dismissal was Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr.’s firing on Friday, Feb. 21. Brown served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On April 3, Hegseth dismissed Gen. Timothy Haugh from his position as head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command alongside his civilian deputy, Wendy Noble.

On March 18, the Pentagon also announced it would cut about 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs.