Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been dealt another embarrassing blow by the allies he has spent months insulting.
The former Fox News host, 46, has chastised some of the U.S.’s closest friends in Europe since taking the job last year, and didn’t let them know in advance about the joint strikes with Israel on Iran in February.
He is now asking them to form a naval coalition to help ensure free shipping can be sustained through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed by Iran during the conflict that his boss, President Trump, started.
The closure of the strait sparked a global energy crisis and turned pressure back on Washington, D.C., which, in turn, is now making a concerted effort to get allies on board to reopen it.
Hegseth met with newly appointed U.K. Defense Secretary Wes Streeting on Friday, who took the job as part of the new government formed by Andy Burnham, who replaced Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister last week.
According to Politico, which cited sources on both sides of the Atlantic, Hegseth and Streeting spoke with France’s Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin on Monday.
During the conversation, they asked her to help form a coalition that would “work together to reassure shipping across the region,” one British official said.
But Streeting and Hegseth have already run into trouble, according to four sources from Britain and one from the U.S., cited by Politico.
They say that the pair’s plan has been met with skepticism by European leaders, who have spent the last year being hounded by Hegseth on everything from military spending to allowing D.C. to use their airbases to fight a war they are not part of.
Despite the setback, Britain and the U.S. still hope to arrange a meeting with international officials in London to discuss forming the coalition, which would include minesweeping operations and the protection of merchant vessels.
Two British officials told the same news site that Streeting remains hopeful of coordinating a multinational effort to keep the narrow waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil flows in peacetime, open.
“The Defense secretary has been having constructive discussions with allies on diplomatic and military efforts to strengthen maritime security, and these will continue in the coming days,” one of the two said. All sources were granted anonymity by Politico to speak freely.
However, hesitation from some of D.C.’s closest friends comes as little surprise, after the bruising vitriol they have been subject to from Hegseth this year.
Speaking to the site, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said there had been “no consultation with Congress, no consultation with allies, just boom.”
He added that Trump is “deeply frustrated that Congress isn’t supporting it, the American people aren’t supporting it, our core allies aren’t supporting it.
“You can’t be surprised when you throw a party, and you don’t invite anybody.”
Reiterating London’s position on the matter, Streeting said Sunday it had, “not joined and will not join offensive U.S. military action in Iran. That’s an area where we have not agreed with the United States.
“But when it comes to securing maritime freedom and free commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, that’s where we are absolutely aligned.”
After the doomed memorandum of understanding between D.C. and Tehran fell apart, peace collapsed, paving the way for 12 more days of hostilities.
The latest bout came to a close on Friday, although both sides have been trying to project positions of strength since.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Defense Department for comment.
