WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) – Pete Hegseth wanted to make waves at the Pentagon. But less than 90 days since being sworn in as U.S. defense secretary, he appears put off balance by the very turbulence he himself created.
An ex-Fox News host, Hegseth on Monday accused his former trusted advisors of turning against him following revelations that he texted sensitive U.S. military strike plans from his personal phone to his wife, brother, attorney and others.
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“What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and a bunch of hit pieces come out,” Hegseth said on the White House lawn, his children standing behind him, for an Easter celebration.
The White House saw a conspiracy against Hegseth stretching far beyond the small cadre of his once loyal aides, who were fired after accusations they leaked sensitive information, to include the Department of Defense itself.
Hegseth has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement President Donald Trump’s national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he says are discriminatory.
“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
So far, Trump himself is standing firmly by Hegseth, saying he was “doing a great job.”
“He was put there to rid of a lot of bad people. And that is what he is doing,” Trump told reporters.
The latest controversy comes after the dismissal of aides brought to the Pentagon by the Trump administration, firings triggered by a leak investigation ordered by Hegseth’s chief of staff on March 21.
The dismissed aides include Dan Caldwell, a longtime colleague of Hegseth’s who became one of his most trusted advisors. He was escorted out of the Pentagon last week over leaks for which he denies responsibility. Also dismissed was Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick.
“TOTAL CHAOS”
John Ullyot, who was ousted from his job as a Pentagon spokesperson after two months, said Hegseth’s Defense Department was in “total chaos.”
“Hegseth is now presiding over a strange and baffling purge that will leave him without his two closest advisers of over a decade — Caldwell and Selnick — and without chiefs of staff for him and his deputy,” Ullyot wrote in a blistering editorial published on Sunday.
Ullyot concluded that Trump should fire Hegseth, saying: “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership.”
The latest upheaval at the Pentagon comes amid a widening purge of national security officials by the Trump administration that has reached every level of U.S. military leadership, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top Navy admiral and the military’s top lawyers.
It has also included lower-ranking officials, like Colonel Susan Myers, the commander of a U.S. Space Force base in Greenland, who was fired earlier this month.
An email she wrote appeared to question Vice President JD Vance’s assertions during a March visit to Greenland, where he accused Denmark of failing to protect the island from “very aggressive incursions from Russia, and from China and other nations.”
A U.S. defense official said the Pentagon, because of the presence of uniformed military officials, was an institution that under normal circumstances could run itself with basic policy guidance from elected officials.
But the confusion surrounding the building’s leadership was starting to erode that ability, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another official said the firings of military officials by Hegseth and those removed as a part of the leak investigation had created a climate of uncertainty within the Pentagon.
The official added that it appeared that at times Hegseth was more focused on minor issues that gain traction on social media among his conservative base rather than clearly communicating national security policies.
Hegseth only narrowly won Senate confirmation. Many lawmakers expressed concern about his temperament and lack of experience, with three Republican senators voting against him.
Senator Roger Wicker, a Hegseth supporter and the Republican who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, has requested an investigation by the Pentagon’s independent inspector into Hegseth’s use of Signal.
That request followed revelations last month that Hegseth had shared in a Signal chat group that accidentally included a journalist plans to kill a Houthi militant leader in Yemen two hours before the start of U.S. air strikes. Wicker has yet to react to the latest news about a second Signal chat.
Democrats in Congress are increasingly calling for Hegseth to step down.
“Hegseth has turned the Pentagon into a place of chaos,” said Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin.
“If he cared about the institution he’s leading, he should man up, acknowledge he’s a distraction to the military’s mission, and resign.”
(This story has been refiled to say ‘an,’ not ‘a,’ in paragraph 2)
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Phil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
