Pete Hegseth was barely able to get confirmed as Donald Trump’s Defense secretary, and following a series of scandals — including the revelation that he shared U.S. war plans in a second Signal group chat last month — it’s entirely possible that he will be the first member of Trump’s Cabinet to either resign or be forced out not even 100 days into Trump’s second term. Below are the latest updates on his ongoing mess.
As reports continue to emerge about Hegseth’s questionable usage of the app Signal, the Defense secretary is directing his focus toward another topic entirely: equal-opportunity programs.
Hegseth announced that he was instituting a reform process for the department’s Military Equal Opportunity and civilian Equal Employment Opportunity programs, claiming that unverified complaints can ruin careers.
“What’s not good is when these programs are weaponized. Some individuals use these programs in bad faith to retaliate against superiors or peers,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Hegseth responded to leaked news of his planned China briefing for Elon Musk in dramatic fashion, accusing top generals of being the source of the leaks:
“I’ll hook you up to a f—ing polygraph!” Hegseth shouted at Adm. Christopher Grady, the then-acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to two people familiar with the exchange. Hegseth demanded proof that Grady hadn’t leaked news of the March 21 briefing.
Grady was never subjected to a polygraph, and Hegseth would go on to accuse a number of other people for the leak, including Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, the Joint Staff director, whom Hegseth also threatened with a polygraph test.
On Friday, Hegseth revealed that he is making a previously unannounced trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, sharing a video of him boarding a government plane.
Hegseth’s use of his personal phone number to utilize Signal is potentially opening up the Cabinet member to security risks. The New York Times was able to link the Defense secretary’s private number back to public apps and websites, suggesting potential vulnerabilities:
On Aug. 15, 2024, he used his personal phone number to join Sleeper.com, a fantasy football and sports betting site, using the username “PeteHegseth.” Less than two weeks later, a phone number associated with his wife, Jennifer, also joined the site. She was included in one of the two Signal chats about the strikes.
Mr. Hegseth also left other digital breadcrumbs, using his phone to register for Airbnb and Microsoft Teams, a video and communications program.
Hegseth took even further steps to ensure his ability to use Signal in the Pentagon than initially known. Sources tell the Associated Press that the Defense secretary had an insecure internet line set up in his office in order to use the app on his desktop computer:
Known as a “dirty” internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.
Other Pentagon offices have used them, particularly if there’s a need to monitor information or websites that would otherwise be blocked.
But the biggest advantage of using such a line is that the user would not show up as one of the many IP addresses assigned to the Defense Department — essentially the user is masked, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with military network security.
Joe Kasper, Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff is reportedly leaving the Pentagon as soon as Thursday. Politico reports that Kasper, who played a role in the ouster of multiple Defense Department staffers in recent days, intends to return to consulting.
It was initially reported that Kasper would leave the chief of staff job for another position in the department.
The Defense Department has continued to pushback against CBS News’s reporting about Hegseth requesting a revamped green room in Pentagon. A department rapid response account shared purported photos of the room on Wednesday and has responded to individual posts from Democratic politicians as recently as Thursday afternoon.
Though Hegseth maintains that his Signal chats weren’t problematic, a new report suggests that the Defense secretary is being held to a different standard. The Washington Post found numerous instances where contractors lost security clearances for similar offenses like mishandling sensitive information or using technological workarounds:
One of the cases examined by The Post was that of a 56-year-old man who had held a clearance since 1988. He kept a spreadsheet containing both his private information and protected Defense Department information, including a passcode that would help access a government safe at work. He routinely transferred the spreadsheet between his government and personal computers using a USB drive or emails. As a result, his application for a security clearance was denied in 2021.
CNN reports that Colonel Ricky Buria, a close aide of Hegseth, asked if the Defense secretary could be allowed an exception to use Signal, which sources say prompted questions among more experienced officials in the department. Per the outlet, Buria didn’t stop there:
Weeks earlier, before The Atlantic revealed that Hegseth had been using the app to discuss detailed military plans, Buria had pushed to get Hegseth an extra desktop computer in his office that he could use Signal on, ostensibly for personal communications so he could more easily text friends and family from the Pentagon, the sources said.
Trump wrote on TruthSocial that he is meeting with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic who first broke the “SignalGate” story after being inadvertently added to a chat with Hegseth and other government officials. The president said Goldberg will be joined by reporters Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker to do a story he claims is titled “The Most Consequential President of this Century.”
“I am doing this interview out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself, just to see if it’s possible for The Atlantic to be ‘truthful.’ Are they capable of writing a fair story on ‘TRUMP’? The way I look at it, what can be so bad – I WON!,” he wrote.
Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, who worked alongside Hegseth and his now-wife Jennifer on the network, told CNN Wednesday that the Signal story would’ve blown over if Hegseth had simply owned up to it.
“He said during his confirmation hearings that he was a changed man because of two things: Jenny and Jesus,” she said. “Now I will say that, from a Christian perspective, his behavior has not lived up to what most Christians would believe is the right thing to do, which is to take accountability, to ask for forgiveness, to say that you’ve made mistakes, and move on.”
Hegseth delivered remarks at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, laying out the administration’s accomplishments to date. Though the Defense secretary didn’t directly address his ongoing controversies in the press, Hegseth took a defiant tone for much of his speech and, at one point, affected a Trump impression while recounting a story.
“When President Trump called me to take this job, he told me first — he told me two things. The first was, ‘Pete, you’re going to have to be tough as shit — tough.’ Boy, he was not kidding on that one. This job requires a steel spine and that’s fine. We’re doing the work of the American people and the American warfighter,” he said. “But second, the president said to me, ‘I want you to restore the warrior ethos of our military, full stop.’”
Hegseth’s use of the encrypted messaging app Signal went further than initially reported. Sources tell the Washington Post that the Defense secretary had the app installed on a desktop computer in his office in the Pentagon:
In doing so, Hegseth effectively “cloned” the Signal app on his personal cellphone, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an issue that has hounded the Trump administration for weeks. The move followed a discussion among Hegseth and his aides about how they could circumvent the lack of cellphone service in much of the Pentagon and more quickly coordinate with the White House and other top Trump officials using the encrypted app, they added.
Hegseth’s decision earlier this year to install Signal on a desktop computer in the Pentagon was a work-around that enabled him to use Signal in a classified space, where his cellphone and other personal electronics are not permitted, and communicate with ease with anyone — other government officials or his family — who is outside of the imposing military headquarters.
Hegseth denounced the CBS News report about his request to build a makeup studio close to the Pentagon briefing room, calling it a “totally fake story.”
Democrats have latched on to the latest report that Hegseth requested a makeup room in the Pentagon, keeping up the steady drumbeat of criticism with some puns thrown in for good measure:
CNN reports on the growing role of Jennifer Hegseth, the Defense secretary’s wife, who has been one of his closest advisers as he increasingly relies on his small inner circle:
A source familiar with the situation told CNN Jennifer Hegseth submitted paperwork for a security clearance, but it was unclear if she received one. When asked by CNN if Jennifer Hegseth has a clearance, a spokesperson said the department does not discuss security clearances for any individual. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, however, added that Jennifer Hegseth has “never attended a meeting where sensitive information or classified information was discussed.”
Multiple sources told CNN that Hegseth has grown increasingly paranoid about the potential of leaks to the media within the Pentagon and has begun largely depending on a small circle for counsel, including his wife.
In an interview with CNN, Republican senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he still has faith in Hegseth but believes the Defense secretary could use some more experience around him.
“I’m confident that Pete Hegseth can still be and will be a great secretary of Defense. He’s gonna need some help around him. I think one of the things he has lacked in the early days is some real expertise, institutional expertise in the building,” Cramer said.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, reportedly made some TV-ready requests since taking on his new role. Sources tell CBS News that he requested a room close to the Pentagon briefing room be turned into a makeup studio for on-camera appearances, at an expense of several thousand dollars:
An in-house construction crew renovated the adjacent green room earlier this year. The room previously had minimal furnishings — a table with chairs, a TV, photos of former defense secretaries and a mirror on the back of the door, one source said.
The table was removed and a new chair and large mirror with makeup lighting was installed, another source said.
Vice-President J.D. Vance echoed the president’s statements of support on Wednesday, saying he stands behind Hegseth despite the swirling controversies.
“I have 100 percent confidence in the secretary,” Vance told reporters, per Bloomberg.
Leon Panetta, secretary of Defense during the Obama administration, told the Associated Press that the information Hegseth shared in his multiple Signal chats would have been classified.
“It is unheard of to have a secretary of Defense committing these kind of serious security breaches,” Panetta said. ”Developing attack plans for defensive reasons is without question the most classified information you can have.”
When a reporter asked if the recent Pentagon firings reflected on bad management, Leavitt echoed Hegseth’s own words and characterized the ex-employees as leakers.
“They were Pentagon employees who leaked against their boss to news agencies in this room,” she said, “and it’s been clear from day one from this administration that we’re not going to tolerate individuals who leak to the mainstream media, particularly when it comes to sensitive information.”
ABC27, a Harrisburg affiliate, reports Hegseth is heading to Pennsylvania this week amid the swirling Signal-chat controversy. The Defense secretary is set to visit the U.S. Army War College and Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle on Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt continued her ongoing defense of Hegseth, telling reporters President Trump “stands strongly behind” him.
“The Secretary of Defense is doing a tremendous job, and he is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in this city who reject monumental change,” she said. “And I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the secretary of Defense since the moment President Trump announced his nomination before the U.S. Senate.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a combat veteran, said Tuesday that Hegseth “needs to be fired.”
“The intel he shared via Signal, including to his wife, was sent to him on a secure channel. He knowingly exposed our pilots to unnecessary danger with his show boat antics,” she wrote on X.
Hegseth still retains support from others on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Republican senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri took to social media to make it clear he’s sticking by the beleaguered Defense secretary:
Rhode Island senator Jack Reed, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services committee, told NPR that Hegseth is proving all of the concerns that many in Congress had over his confirmation.
“He’s confirming now everything that we were saying. He does not have the experience to manage a major enterprise like the Pentagon. He does not operate according to the chain of command, to my view. He’s got a cadre of old buddies around him and ironically this week he fired a lot of his old buddies,” he said. “This is just a complete meltdown of common sense, and it endangers our national security.”
Reed is requesting that the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General look into the newly reported Signal chat, calling the information shared “highly sensitive” and saying it could have put lives at risk if it fell into the wrong hands.
“It’s a very basic mistake that no one in the military of any senior rank should make,” Reed said.
While Hegseth’s future in Trump’s Cabinet remains in flux, the Department of Defense is using its official social-media accounts to promote his “leakers” defense, dedicating multiple posts to clips of Hegseth’s Fox News interview:
Angie Craig, a Democratic representative from Minnesota, is calling for Hegseth to be fired, posting an NBC News report that the Defense secretary shared sensitive information from a top general in his Signal chats.
“He never should’ve been hired in the first place, but his gross negligence in putting our service members at risk is more than enough to be fired for,” she wrote on X.
The New York Times reports Hegseth’s short tenure has come with a fair amount of internal strife between staff in the Defense Department:
The discord, according to current and former defense officials, includes: screaming matches in his inner office among aides; a growing distrust of the thousands of military and civilian personnel who staff the building; and bureaucratic logjams that have slowed down progress on some of President Trump’s key priorities, such as an “Iron Dome for America” missile-defense shield. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal business.
Per the Times, Hegseth is considering replacing Joe Kasper, his chief of staff, whom sources report just led a meeting with a veterans’ group that turned into a retelling of a recent visit by Kasper and a group member to a strip club in Washington, D.C.
In his interview with Fox & Friends, Hegseth did not deny the existence of the second Signal chat but kept up his insistence that the information shared did not amount to “war plans.”
“I look at war plans every single day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations for media coordination and other things,” he said. “That’s what I’ve said from the beginning.”
The Defense secretary denounced the reporting as politically motivated, saying it first began with “left-wing reporters at The Atlantic.”
“This is what it’s all about: trying to get at President Trump and his agenda,” he said.
More details are emerging about the sensitive nature of the information shared by Hegseth in his Signal chats. NBC News reports that Army General Michael Erik Kurilla, leader of the U.S. Central Command, provided Hegseth with crucial specifics about the Yemen operation ahead of time through a secure system, including the timing of the troops’ departures and attacks:
But then Hegseth used his personal phone to send some of the same information Kurilla had given him to at least two group text chats on the Signal messaging app, three U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges told NBC News.
The sequence of events, which has not previously been reported, could raise new questions about Hegseth’s handling of the information, which he and the government have denied was classified. In all, according to the two sources, less than 10 minutes elapsed between Kurilla’s giving Hegseth the information and Hegseth’s sending it to the two group chats, one of which included other Cabinet-level officials and their designees — and, inadvertently, the editor of The Atlantic magazine. One of them was composed of Hegseth’s wife, brother and attorney and some of his aides.
The Defense secretary was interviewed by his former Fox & Friends colleagues on Tuesday morning. As expected, he was not contrite about his habit of sharing war plans in less than secure venues and blamed others for the scandal.
The betting market suggests his chances of sticking around through July are a lot worse than a few days ago but not terrible, at least not yet:
With more than a little hyperbole:
It may not last forever, but Politico reports that Trump’s public support for the Defense secretary is consistent with what he has told him in private:
The person familiar with the matter, as well as two other people close to the administration, all said that Trump feels a kinship with Hegseth over attacks from former colleagues, likening the the backlash from former Pentagon officials to what he faced during his first term from Miles Taylor, John Kelly, Mark Milley and other former administration officials who questioned his leadership.
But while many Trump administration officials believe that Hegesth’s job is safe for the moment, some are privately concerned about the situation at the Pentagon. “There are some people who think Pete’s not doing the best job,” a second person close to the administration, granted anonymity to discuss private details, said. “But the president likes him, the MAGA orbit is united behind Pete and we’ve seen for years now that op-eds from former staffers never really move the needle with Trump.” The third person close to the administration, while agreeing with that assessment, did note that Trump’s support and patience can waver. “Trump goes to bat for people until the moment he flips on them,” the third person said. “That’s always a possibility”
Writing on X, Erick Erickson backs NPR’s report but adds that it’s an attempt to get ahead of the news:
NOTUS reported earlier today that “a source close to the matter confirmed [that] they are expecting more details about Hegseth’s conduct in the past month to come out this week.”
The Nebraska representative, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, is now the first Republican in Congress to publicly call for Hegseth to go, Politico reports:
“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon, a former Air Force general who now chairs of the subcommittee on cyber issues, said in an interview. “I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.”
The Nebraska lawmaker also said that while he didn’t feel it was his place to call on Hegseth to resign, he wouldn’t stand for Hegseth’s mismanagement were he the occupant of the Oval Office.
“If it’s true that he had another [Signal] chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable,” said Bacon …
“Russia and China put up thousands of people to monitor all these phone calls at the very top, and the No. 1 target besides the president … would be the secretary of Defense,” said Bacon. “Russia and China are all over his phone, and for him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right. He’s acting like he’s above the law — and that shows an amateur person.”
According to NPR:
The White House has begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. …
In the last few weeks, four senior advisers to Hegseth have left abruptly, some accused of leaking. They have all released public statements suggesting infighting within the department of defense.
For now, at least, as the president told reporters Monday morning:
Pete’s doing a great job. Everybody’s happy with him. We have the highest recruitment numbers I think we’ve had in 28 years. No, he’s doing a great job. It’s just fake news. They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. …
Ask the Houthis how much dysfunction there is.
This angry morning at the White House:
Earlier Monday on Fox & Friends, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested the whole Pentagon has been working against Hegseth:
On Sunday, following days of leak-linked drama in Hegseth’s inner circle, the New York Times reported Hegseth had shared details about U.S. airstrikes in Yemen on a second Signal group chat, and as I noted last night, that was just one of the news catastrophes for Hegseth on Sunday:
John Ullyot, who resigned last week just ahead of the latest fireworks, wrote in a Politico magazine op-ed on Sunday that the Pentagon “is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership.” Ullyot — who helped lead the DoD’s anti-DEI purge, which briefly took down a webpage celebrating Jackie Robinson’s military service — noted that he’s a “longtime backer” of Hegseth but added that “even strong backers of the secretary like me must admit: The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon — and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration.”
