Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (Fox News / The Will Cain Show)
"President Trump leads from the front, and he has assembled a highly-qualified, world-class team that has helped him achieve numerous foreign policy accomplishments this term," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox Digital on Wednesday when asked about the trio's test on Iran. "The American people trust the President to make the right decisions that keep them safe, and he has empowered his team to meet the moment and advance his foreign policy goals."
Secretary Hegseth was one of Trump's more controversial nominees among critics, as Democrat lawmakers and left-wing pundits slammed Hegseth as unqualified for the job.
"This hearing now seems to be a hearing about whether or not women are qualified to serve in combat. And not about whether or not you are qualified to be secretary of defense," Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth said during Hegseth's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in January. "And let me just say that the American people need a secretary of defense who’s ready to lead on day one. You are not that person."
"Is Pete Hegseth truly the best we have to offer?" asked Democrat Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, ranking member of the committee.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. (John McDonnell/The Associated Press)
Director of National Intelligence Gabbard is another Trump official who faced an intense confirmation hearing as critics argued she was unqualified for the role.
Gabbard is a former Democrat who served in the U.S. House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee and an Iraq war veteran. However, she had never held a formal position within the intelligence community before serving as director of national intelligence.
Ahead of her confirmation, Gabbard's critics slammed her as lacking the qualifications for the role, questioning her judgment over a 2017 meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, labeling her as sympathetic toward Russia, and balking at her previous favorable remarks related to former National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
USS NIMITZ CARRIER STRIKE GROUP SAILING TOWARD MIDDLE EAST AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, US OFFICIAL SAYS
"Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience and the Constitution of the United States," she said during her confirmation hearing. "Accusing me of being Trump's puppet, Putin's puppet, Assad's puppet, a guru's puppet, Modi's puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters."
She ultimately was confirmed in a 52–48 vote.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Leavitt is the youngest press secretary in U.S. history, assuming the role at age 27.
Some liberal critics, such as Joy Behar of "The View," attempted to discount her appointment when she was first tapped by Trump, and she has since emerged as a Trump administration firebrand during her routine White House press briefings.
Though Leavitt has overwhelmingly been praised by supporters of the president for her defense of the administration and repeated fiery exchanges with left-wing media outlets during briefings, her tenure has overwhelmingly focused on domestic issues.
President Donald Trump is in the midst of monitoring the flaring conflict between Israel and Iran. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )
Leavitt has kept the nation updated on issues such as mass deportation efforts, Trump's ongoing list of executive orders affecting policies from transgender issues to electric vehicles, national tragedies such as the terror attack in Boulder targeting Jewish Americans and Trump's wide-ranging tariff policy that affects foreign nations.
Though the administration entered office with a war raging between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the ongoing war in Israel after Hamas attacked the country in 2023, the Israel–Iran conflict provides Leavitt with her first major international crisis that could include U.S. involvement.
Leavitt's highly anticipated first press briefing since Israel launched its preemptive strikes is scheduled for Thursday.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/flaring-iran-nuclear-crisis-provides-first-major-test-pivotal-trump-trio