Pete Hegesth Aide Quits to ‘Chop Lots of Firewood’

Ken Cedeno / REUTERS A top aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced his resignation on Monday and pledged to keep quiet about his time in the Trump administration.

Ron Moeller, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategic readiness, was sworn in last August.

In a post on X, Moeller said that he had planned to be in the role for a year.

“Today I submitted my formal resignation as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Readiness,” he wrote .

“When I took on this task for @POTUS, @SecWar, & @USW_PR_HONTata, I promised a year; another year away from my wife whom I miss dearly.

The resignation takes effect in 2 weeks.” “I intend to go back to the Black Hills, recharge, chop lots of firewood for the winter, and ignore any and all journalists trying to get me to talk about my time in this historic and consequential administration,” he continued, referring to the mountain range spanning western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, where he unsuccessfully ran for a state Senate seat in 2022.

Moeller contrasted his resignation with that of Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who cited in his exit letter the Iran war and Israel’s influence on U.S. policymaking.

“For those of you expecting some sort of Joe Kent career suicide,” Moeller wrote, “I’m afraid you’ll be sadly disappointed.” Moeller has had a long career in government.

He started out as an intelligence specialist in the Air Force in the 1970s, then worked in the CIA as a paramilitary operations officer.

After multiple roles and overseas assignments in the CIA, he retired from the agency in 2013.

Moeller’s “blend of intelligence experience and time spent in war zones provides him with a unique perspective on readiness, training, and professional education, all grounded in supporting the President’s policies of America First and the Secretary’s restoration of the warrior ethos,” his biography states .

Moeller served under Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, who in turn reported to Hegseth’s deputy, Steve Feinberg.

When reached for comment, the Pentagon referred the Daily Beast to Moeller’s post.

Moeller’s exit comes shortly after the reported departure by year’s end of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, following prolonged tension with Hegseth.