Hegseth Stocks Defense Policy Board With Trump Allies Following Purge

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday a slate of 15 new appointees to the Defense Policy Board after he purged the previous panel last year.

The new board will be chaired by Robert Lighthizer, who served as the U.S. trade representative under President Donald Trump’s first administration. Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, a Republican, will serve as vice chair. Other appointees include tech billionaire Marc Andreessen, right-wing author Michael Anton, former Republican Rep. Mike Garcia of California, and Blake Masters, a Republican former Senate candidate who has previously embraced conspiracy theories.

Formed in 1985, the Defense Policy Board is an advisory committee tasked with providing independent recommendations to Hegseth, the deputy defense secretary and the Pentagon’s policy chief on issues like defense policy, planning and national security issues.

Hegseth removed the board’s previous members in April 2025 after a 45-day review, noting in a memo that the Defense Department needed “fresh thinking to drive bold changes.” The board’s fate remained uncertain until DOD renewed the committee with a Federal Register notice last August, indicating the board should contain members who have “distinguished backgrounds in defense and national security affairs.”

Members will serve without pay, the notice read, and will provide input “based on their best
judgment without representing any particular point of view and in a manner that is free from conflict of interest.”

Andreessen’s firm has invested in companies with Pentagon contracts, including OpenAI and SpaceX.

Other appointees include Michael Pillsbury, who has advised Trump on U.S-China relations, and Rachel Bovard, senior director of policy at the Conservative Partnership Institute.