Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is putting serious America First firepower around Pentagon policy.
On June 29, 2026, the Department of War announced a new lineup for its Defense Policy Board, and the names tell you exactly where the strategic thinking is heading.
Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative who ran President Trump’s trade fights from 2017 to 2021, will serve as chair. Former Sen. Norm Coleman will serve as vice chair.
That is a deliberate signal. Lighthizer built his reputation taking on China and rewriting trade deals that Washington insiders said could never be touched.
Wow, this is an incredible list of people for the Defense Policy Board https://t.co/y9XiqYQAfO
— Jill Savage (@Jill_Savage) June 29, 2026
Now that same instinct is being pointed at force structure, modernization, and regional defense policy.
The War.gov release confirms Hegseth made the appointments, placed Lighthizer and Coleman at the top, and laid out the board’s job in an immediate June 29 notice.
The Defense Policy Board was first established in 1985 and provides independent strategic advice to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Under Secretary for Policy.
Its focus areas include strategic planning, U.S. force structure and modernization, regional defense policies, and other national-security issues of special interest to the Department and leadership.
The release then lists thirteen additional members, turning what could have been a dry advisory-board notice into a real personnel signal for the Department of War’s next policy phase across technology, China policy, and nuclear deterrence.
Beyond Lighthizer and Coleman, the board adds thirteen members: Marc Andreessen, Michael Anton, Rachel Bovard, Tom Feddo, Mike Garcia, Kenneth Jones, Blake Masters, Daniel McCarthy, Michael Pillsbury, retired Admiral Chas Richard, Francis Sempa, Christopher Williams, and Theo Wold.
That is a mix of tech, national-security, and conservative policy heavyweights.
Marc Andreessen brings Silicon Valley and the venture world. Michael Anton and Rachel Bovard bring sharp America First policy minds.
Blake Masters adds a populist edge, and Michael Pillsbury is one of the most respected China hawks in Washington.
Retired Adm. Chas Richard, who led U.S. Strategic Command, brings nuclear and deterrence experience that few outside advisers can match.
Just the News reported the announcement shortly after the War.gov release and flagged the same headline picks, making clear this was both a board launch and a membership announcement from Hegseth.
Their write-up highlighted Lighthizer as chair and Coleman as vice chair, alongside the addition of Andreessen, Anton, and Bovard as part of the new slate.
That matters because those names point in different directions at once: trade leverage, tech power, conservative policy, and national-security hard power inside Washington.
The throughline is leverage and outside pressure, from trade fights to tech competition and military modernization. Hegseth is not building a board of cautious careerists who tell the Pentagon what it already wants to hear.
Lighthizer at the top of that table is the clearest sign yet that the trade-war discipline is being folded into how the Department of War thinks about strategy.
This is the kind of personnel move that shapes policy long after the press release fades.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.