Pete Hegseth Calls Halt To Offensive Cyber Operations Against Russia: Report

(Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly directed a pause to offensive cyber operations against Russia in a move that allegedly happened before President Donald Trump’s heated Oval Office clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The change was first reported by cybersecurity outlet The Record and later confirmed by officials speaking to CBS News.

The Pentagon has refused to comment.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to the reports calling it “a critical strategic mistake” in a statement to The New York Times.

“Trump is giving Putin a free pass as Russia continues to launch cyber operations and ransomware attacks against critical American infrastructure,” Schumer warned.

Over the weekend Hegseth also ordered all civilian employees at the Pentagon to respond to the “pulse check” email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) after initially telling federal workers to ignore the directive.

“I am now directing each member of the department’s civilian workforce — just civilian — to provide those five bullets on what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week,” Hegseth announced in a video posted to X in which he also instructed staff to “CC their immediate supervisor.”

Hegseth’s directive follows days of confusion after he initially told employees not to reply during the first round of emails sent on Feb. 22, a move that directly conflicted with warnings from DOGE’s Elon Musk that a failure to respond would be considered a resignation.

At President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting of last Wednesday, Musk doubled down, defending his email blast as a necessary “pulse check” on the government workforce.

“Anyone with a heartbeat and neurons could complete it,” he quipped.

In his video, Hegseth added that the military’s operational security concerns had initially required a pause.

Musk issued a tweet thanking Hegseth:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1896279104535904726

According to Musk, whose unorthodox processes continue to challenge federal bureaucratic norms, employees will soon receive a second round of the OPM email.