Former national security adviser John Bolton said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a “lightweight” who has used up all of his “good will” with President Trump after it was revealed that there was a second Signal group chat in which he shared attack plans with family members.

“I think Hegseth has sadly proved himself to be a lightweight and I don’t think he’s long for the job,” Bolton said Tuesday on CNN.

Bolton, who served under the first Trump administration but has often criticized the president, said Trump may wait a while to oust Hegseth as the administration doesn’t want to appear to bow to political pressure.

“He’s used up his good will with the administration,” Bolton said of Hegseth. “He’s supposed to be defending Trump, not Trump defending him.”

Trump has stood by Hegseth amid the new reporting about the group chat, saying the secretary is doing a “great job,” and he told people to “ask the Houthis how he’s doing.”

Hegseth has maintained that no “war plans” were shared in the chat, which reportedly included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. He made a similar claim after it was revealed The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was added to a Signal group discussing strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“What was shared over Signal, then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordination for media coordination and other things,” Hegseth said Tuesday during a “Fox & Friends” interview. “That’s what I’ve said from the beginning.” 

Last month, Bolton criticized Trump officials for using Signal rather than more secure U.S. government systems.

Bolton said his advice for Hegseth amid the second Signal scandal is to be thinking of his next job move.

“I’m not sure he will do that, but I don’t see his tenure here lasting more than some months into the future,” Bolton said.

The Hill has reached out to the Defense Department for comment.

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