Washington DC - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly had a talking to from one of the US' key military figures after indecision and flip-flopping over whether to approve a promotion.

A report by the New York Times reveals that Hegseth repeatedly flip-flopped on whether to give Lt. General Douglas A. Sims II a promotion, prompting a senior military official to get involved.

Hegseth accused Sims – without providing evidence – of leaking sensitive information to the news media, according to sources close to the secretary.

Despite indicating he would move forward with the promotion after Sims was cleared of the allegations, Hegseth again changed his mind and accused Sims of being close to General Mark Milley, who is viewed as disloyal to the Trump administration.

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The bizarre indecision led to an intervention from General Dan Caine, the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who put pressure on Hegseth to give Sims the promotion.

After an intervention from one of the military's top figures and a final meeting with Sims, Hegseth refused to grant the promotion. Sims is now expected to retire after 34 years in the military.

The controversy around Sims' promotion is but another in a long line of blunders committed by Hegseth, who has desperately been trying to weed out anyone in the Department of Defense seen as disloyal to President Donald Trump.

The former Fox News host insists on absolute loyalty and has reportedly used polygraph tests, similar to Secretary Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security, to prove that individuals can be trusted and to root out leakers.

Traditionally, the US' top military figures are meant to be apolitical and non-partisan appointments. They swear their oath to the Constitution, not to any specific leader or government.

Hegseth's obsession with loyalty and leakers has not seemed to influence his own conduct. On Friday, a new report confirmed the defense secretary had shared highly classified information on Signal.