Fed-Up Federal Judge Slams Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for Having 'Time to Tweet' While Denying Recusal Motion

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was rebuked by a federal judge in an escalating standoff with the Trump administration after they tried to have her removed from a contentious lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes refused to step aside after the government filed a recusal motion on Sunday, October 18.

Part of the legal fight is a different case about the Pentagon’s ban on transgender military officials, which is being challenged in court.

Government lawyers accused Reyes of making fun of Hegseth and threatening to force the defense secretary to testify on the ban on transgender troops, but the judge denied their accusations.

At an October 14 hearing, Reyes acknowledged Hegseth’s time constraints but observed that “he has time to tweet, and he has time to put out videos, and he has time to speak to the generals.”

She also added that, “These are facts, not insults.”

The administration argued that her comments were proof that she is hostile to Trump administration officials.

However, Reyes hit back, stating that she was simply acknowledging Hegseth’s public social media activities, which does not amount to mocking him.

In her 13-page statement, Reyes also explained she had already denied a request from the plaintiffs to subject Hegseth to a seven-hour deposition. She also said the plaintiffs would only get a one-hour limit if they made another request.

The bid to remove Reyes came from another case involving the administration’s taking down trees at Washington’s East Potomac Golf Course.

The judge stated that the government had announced its intention to start cutting down trees late on a Friday, just before a holiday weekend, but they went on to cut down almost 430 healthy trees in a single day.

Reyes stated she had repeatedly refused earlier requests to get involved in the project and only agreed to provide emergency assistance after the intensive clearing had started.

The government's lawyers accused her of "histrionics" and claimed she didn’t respect the “valuable time” of officials.

Reyes rejected the allegation that her behavior has shown an inability to handle cases involving Donald Trump’s administration impartially.

To make her point, she showed court transcripts in which she had given government attorneys credit and denied the plaintiff's request over 10 times before the tree cutting occurred.

The judge concluded that the government failed to provide evidence that met the legal standard for disqualification.

Despite the Trump admin’s efforts, her ruling means she will continue to preside over the golf course case, and her comments about Hegseth will remain on the record.