Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s younger brother is serving as a Pentagon aide, according to the Associated Press.
So far, Phil Hegseth’s role has included meeting with UFC legend Conor McGregor and joining his brother for an ongoing trip in the Pentagon’s Boeing 747—with stops in Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and Japan.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told the AP that the younger Hegseth’s official title is “senior adviser to the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Defense Department.”
“Phil Hegseth, one of a number of talented DHS liaisons to DOD, is conducting touch points with U.S. Coast Guard officials on the Secretary’s Indo-Pacific trip,” she added.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed this title to the AP and explained that he is accompanying his brother on the Pacific trip to meet with representatives from the law enforcement wing of the DHS.
Federal law prevents government officials from hiring their relatives. However, if Hegseth is solely employed by the DHS and his brother wasn’t involved in his hiring, then it may not be illegal.
However, a Pentagon organizational chart obtained by the AP showed the younger Hegseth directly below his brother. It lists his role as senior adviser to the defense secretary.
It is not clear whether or how much Hegseth is paid for his work.
The DHS and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.
It is not the first time the two brothers have worked alongside each other; Pete hired Phil to work at Concerned Veterans for America, the nonprofit he ran. The financially distressed advocacy group paid Phil a salary of $108,000, the AP reported based on tax records.
Before taking on the Pentagon role, Phil founded and ran a podcast production consulting agency called Embassy and Third, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also previously produced podcasts and videos for the Hudson Institute, a conservative political think tank.
Based on public records, Hegseth is 32 years old and a registered Republican. His page at the Hudson Institute says that he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications from the University of St. Thomas, which is in St. Paul, Minnesota, the brothers’ home state.
Phil Hegseth (center left) during Sec. of Defence Pete Hegseth’s meeting with MMA fighter Conor McGregor at the Pentagon. US Department of Defense/Facebook
Phil has often been seen by his brother’s side. During Pete’s contentious nomination process—where he faced scandals that included allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse, all of which he denied—Phil appeared alongside him in photographs taken in the halls of Congress.
He is also in photos posted to the defense secretary’s official Flickr account, which show him meeting with McGregor, a champion mixed martial artist, earlier this month.
Hegseth also joined his brother on a trip to Guantanamo Bay in February, according to the AP.
There are exceptions to nepotism restrictions in the federal government for the president’s office. This is why Donald Trump was able to appoint his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a senior adviser during his first term. It’s also why Bill Clinton could add wife Hillary Clinton to his healthcare task force. But this would not apply to Hegseth.
The news of his brother’s role—and the related nepotism concerns—come amid another scandal involving the elder Hegseth. The defense secretary shared operational details ahead of a military strike on terrorists in Yemen on a Signal group chat that inadvertently included a prominent journalist.
Hegseth has insisted that no classified information or “war plans” were shared on the chat.
