Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailed the strong recruiting numbers the military has seen and the steps the administration has taken to end woke culture in the military at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Trump’s meeting with his deputies comes after his milestone 100th day in office on  Tuesday.

“Well, Mr. President, I think we’re controversial because we’re over the target,” Hegseth said. “And like so many things, Mr. President, you inherited a demoralized military that couldn’t recruit, that was perceived as weak after what happened in Afghanistan and elsewhere because of Joe Biden.”

He then highlighted the strong recruiting numbers over recent months.

“What we have seen since your election and the inauguration has been nothing short of a recruiting renaissance,” Hegseth detailed. “It has been decades since we’ve seen this kind of recruiting in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force.”

“The men and women of America want to join the United States military led by President Donald Trump,” he added.

For reference, Military.com reported on May 21 that as of the week prior, “the Army had enlisted 51,837 recruits, or 85% of its 61,000 target for fiscal 2025.”

Trump mentioned there has been a surge in police officer and firefighter recruitment around the nation as well.

“I mean, they have waiting lists now, and six months ago it was a disaster,” the president said.

Hegseth also detailed the cultural revamping the Department of Defense (DoD) has undergone since Trump returned to office and Hegseth became the department’s secretary, ranging from restoring fitness standards to restoring the names of military bases that were renamed under the Biden administration.

“We’re going to be fit, not fat, in our formations. We welcome back all…the folks who were forced out because of the COVID mandate. We ripped wokeness out of the military, sir–DEI, trans–and it’s Fort Benning and Fort Bragg again at the DoD,” he said.

Hegseth’s comments come as the establishment media has recently relaunched “Signal-gate” attacks at him. Citing anonymous sources, the New York Times reported Hegseth “essentially” shared in a separate Signal chat the “same attack plans” that were in the Signal chat that came to light in late March after a left-wing journalist was inadvertently added to the chat.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell blasted the Times in a statement:

Another day, another old story—back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their garbage — are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article. They relied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.

He further emphasized that “There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.”

“What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda,” he added.