Pete Hegseth Unlikely to Remain Defense Secretary: Ex-DOD Spokesperson

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is unlikely to keep hold of his position for much longer, the Pentagon's former top spokesperson has said, as the Department of Defense contends with "total chaos" in the wake of further reported leaks of sensitive military information and high-profile firings.

Why It Matters

Hegseth, still within the first 100 days of U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration, has been a magnet for criticism over his steering of the Pentagon, not least his handling of sensitive information in group chats outside of approved channels.

The Defense Secretary has stared down increasing calls for his resignation from senior Democrats, while senior Trump officials have downplayed concerns over Hegseth's leadership.

What To Know

"It's hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer," former Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot said in an opinion piece penned for Politico, published on Sunday.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

Ullyot resigned from his position at the Department of Defense's top spokesperson last week. The Pentagon said he was asked to leave his post, according to The Associated Press.

Ullyot said the Pentagon's most senior ranks were "near collapse," and accused Department of Defense officials close to Hegseth of launching "smear" campaigns against three senior staffers fired earlier this month.

Senior Pentagon adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll—the former chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg—had worked as senior Pentagon aides before they were fired last week under accusations of leaking information without authorization.

A memo signed by Joe Kasper, Hegseth's chief of staff, dated March 21, requested a probe into what Kasper called "recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications."

The memo said the investigation could include polygraph tests. In an apparent reference to this, Ullyot said "not one of the three has been given a lie-detector test."

The three former aides said in a joint statement on Friday they were "incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended," and claimed anonymous Pentagon officials "slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door."

"We still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of "leaks" to begin with," the joint statement read.

"In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters," Ullyot said. "Hegseth's team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door."

"In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth's leadership," Ullyot said.

The New York Times reported Saturday that Hegseth had created a Signal group chat with 13 members, including his wife and brother, to share information about upcoming U.S. strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen at roughly the same time as a journalist was added to a Signal group chat of top U.S. national security officials in mid-March.

Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said last month he accepted "full responsibility" for creating the "Houthi PC small group" chat on messaging app Signal, to which Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was accidentally added. Trump officials insisted no classified information was shared in the group.

Hegseth detailed flight schedules for U.S. military F/A-18 fighter jets targeting Yemen-based Houthi militants in the Signal group chat, named "Defense | Team Huddle," at the same time as discussions were ongoing in the "Houthi PC small group," the Times reported.

What People Are Saying

White House deputy press secretary, Anna Kelly, said in a statement carried by several media outlets on Saturday that "no matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same nonstory, they can't change the fact that no classified information was shared."

"Recently-fired 'leakers' are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President's agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable," Kelly said.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday: "There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story. What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump's agenda."

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Saturday: "We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired."

Update 4/21/2024 6:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 4/21/2024 8:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a response from the Pentagon.