Pete Hegseth’s top choice to take charge of the Army has been accused of inflating his resumé with a claim about healthcare for veterans.
Former Trump officials and Hill staffers told Politico that Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, oversold his role in the Mission Act, a bill Trump signed into law that aims to give veterans healthcare options.
Parnell’s official Pentagon bio says “he played a pivotal role in the passage” of the bill.
But five former Trump administration officials, along with one current and one former Capitol Hill staffer involved in steering the bill through, told Politico that Parnell had no direct role. One former official called the suggestion “simply false.”
Defense Secretary Hegseth backed Parnell in a statement to Politico, saying he helped draft the bill’s language and met with members of Congress and veterans across the country to rally support. Trump himself described Parnell as instrumental in helping pass the law.
Hegseth, 46, is now trying to install Afghanistan veteran Parnell, 45, as army secretary. This is despite the backlash Parnell has faced over censorship of the Pentagon press corps and allegations of domestic violence.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota is among those who have shunned the idea. “It’s hard for me to imagine that could possibly happen,” he told The Washington Sun on Friday. “His record, particularly the spousal abuse stuff, is just a bridge too far for the vast majority of people.”
Parnell, who backed now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, has denied the allegations, which emerged during his 2021 run for Senate in Pennsylvania, that he harmed his estranged wife, Laurie Snell, and their children. She claimed during divorce proceedings that he strangled her on at least one occasion, and that on two others he hit their kids hard enough to leave marks.
The post opened up when Dan Driscoll, 40, resigned at the end of August after months of tension with Hegseth over the defense secretary’s repeated purges of top brass perceived as disloyal to the MAGA cause.
According to The Atlantic, a person familiar with the resignation said Driscoll had “brought up concerns with the Administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth’s blocking those efforts specifically by firing the generals who were responsible.”
Since Hegseth took office last year, Parnell has established himself as a faithful enforcer of the defense secretary’s agenda. He has imposed tight restrictions on journalists reporting at the Pentagon, while defending Hegseth in the face of scandals that have included allegations of gross mismanagement, serious security breaches, and potential war crimes.
Even some Republican lawmakers are reportedly skeptical that the promotion can happen. “It’s just simply not feasible,” a Senate Republican aide familiar with GOP lawmakers’ thinking told the Sun. “Everyone knows the backing just isn’t there.”
The DOD has been contacted for comment.
