Legal scholars have called that campaign a series of extrajudicial killings.During his time as defence secretary, Hegseth has been criticised for weakening rules meant to diminish civilian casualties in US strikes.In addition, his tenure has been marked by right-wing culture war issues: he has sought to ban transgender service members from the armed forces and instituted testosterone testing for male soldiers.In response to Wednesday’s interaction at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that the sentinel had responded “correctly”.He also underscored Hegseth’s commitment to respecting US soldiers.“The Secretary and the entire Department have always honored – and will always honor – the sacrifices our military men and women have made to keep America safe,” Parnell said.