During a White House Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, observers spotted an unusual error on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths name placard. His title appeared as SSecretary of War matching President Donald Trumps preferred renaming of the Defense Department, but not standard English.
The double S quickly caught the internets attention. While it may have simply been a typo, many social media users joked that the letters echoed the initials of the Nazi Schutzstaffel, better known as the SS, suggesting the mistake felt uncomfortably symbolic.
The misprint is clearly visible in photos taken at the meeting, where Hegseth sits beside President Trump on Dec. 2, 2025.
The timing of the blunder was especially unfortunate for Hegseth, who is already under intense scrutiny over a deadly maritime incident that critics claim could constitute a war crime. His past controversies including a Jerusalem Cross tattoo that some say signals far-right sympathies have only added to the publics reactions.
HuffPost requested clarification from the White House about whether the SS prefix was intentional or merely a careless mistake, but no response was immediately provided. Social media users, however, wasted no time sharing their opinions.
