California State Senator Tom Umberg joins Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian on the latest episode of Civil Action to discuss his San Francisco Chronicle op-ed declaring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “the most dangerous threat to our national security.”
Senator Umberg, a retired Army colonel who served as Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, brings decades of expertise in military affairs and counter-drug operations. The op-ed was co-authored with his wife, retired Brigadier General Robin Umberg.
The conversation covers three major concerns: Hegseth’s security breach revealing classified strike information to reporters before an attack, a September meeting at Quantico where he lectured 800 generals and admirals about beards and weight rather than national security, and controversial “double tap” boat strikes in the Caribbean that have killed over 95 people.
Senator Umberg explains why the boat strike policy is counterproductive—killing low-level drug runners eliminates witnesses who could provide evidence against cartel leaders. He discusses a September 2 strike where survivors clinging to wreckage were killed in a second attack, which he identifies as the tipping point that prompted the op-ed.
The episode also addresses Hegseth’s policies affecting military diversity and readiness, including eliminating shaving waivers that disproportionately affect African American soldiers and changes at military academies removing instruction on law of war.