Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new Pentagon project Wednesday led by what his department called “three of our nation’s best minds” — and the announcement immediately drew ridicule online.
Project Meridian, one of several initiatives Hegseth announced during a speech in Quantico, will be co-directed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, defense technology entrepreneur Palmer Luckey and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
“Under the leadership of the department’s chief technology officer, Emil Michael, Project Meridian will be co-led by three of our nation’s best minds: Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich,” Hegseth said Wednesday.
The announcement of the project, which the Pentagon says will examine future warfare, drew swift criticism online.
“Putin and Xi cannot believe their good fortunes,” wrote political scientist Norman Ornstein, a contributing editor for The Atlantic.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, zeroed in on one of Hegseth’s selections.
“Newt Gingrich is 83,” he posted on X.
Other political watchers like Georgia journalist Jay Bookman also unloaded on Hegseth’s announcement.
“There are depths to this man's stupidity that I have never imagined possible,” he wrote.
“Oh no,” Hemant Mehta, a "Jeopardy!" champion, told his X followers while another social media user wrote: “Oops those are actually our nation’s worst minds.”
“Make it stop” progressive commentator @citizengatsby wrote on X.
Putin and Xi cannot believe their good fortunes. https://t.co/odMUMPaDou
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) September 30, 2026
