Dan Caldwell is a former senior adviser to

US Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosu ...

Pete Hegseth Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American author, former television presenter, and former Army National Guard officer who has served as the 29th United States secretary of defense since 2025. Hegseth studied politics at Princeton ...

Early life and education

Caldwell graduated from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 2011. He is a Marine Corps veteran, and served in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Career

From 2011 to 2013, Caldwell worked for U.S. Representative

David Schweikert David Sheridan Schweikert ( ; born March 3, 1962) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from since 2023. The district covers northeastern Maricopa County. He previously served as the U.S. representativ ...

. Caldwell began working for Concerned Veterans for America in 2013. In 2017, Caldwell was named Executive Director of Concerned Veterans for America. In February 2025, Caldwell was named Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense. Caldwell was Hegseth’s point person in the

Signalgate From March 11 to 15, 2025, a group of United States national security leaders conversed on a group chat using the messaging service Signal about imminent military operations against the Houthis in Yemen code-named Operation Rough Rider. Among ...

scandal, in which top Trump administration national security officials, including Hegseth, used the Signal app to discuss plans for a military strike against

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

militants in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. Caldwell was put on leave following leaks from the Pentagon,Top Hegseth adviser Dan Caldwell put on leave in Pentagon leak probe
Reuters, Phil Stewart, April 15, 2025 and later terminated.Pentagon turmoil deepens: Top Hegseth aide leaves post
Politico, DANIEL LIPPMAN and JACK DETSCH, April 18, 2025

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Dan 2025 controversies in the United States 2025 in American politics 21st-century military history of the United States Pete Hegseth Second Trump administration controversies United States military scandals Living people Arizona State University alumni Second Trump administration personnel United States Marines