Those who believed Pete Hegseth was in no way qualified to serve as the secretary of defense are certainly feeling vindicated by the events of recent days.
The Pete Hegseth Show Might Soon Be Over at the Pentagon
A longtime Fox News host with a colorful marital history, as well as serious allegations of both sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon.
This was despite Hegseth having a resume very different from most recent Secretaries of Defense, who have usually either been former generals or Secretaries of military branches, or former elected officials and other veteran Washington hands.
Hegseth, who had run some veterans organizations but never a bureaucracy as large or complex as the Pentagon, was confirmed after a 50-50 Senate vote, in which the tie was broken by Vice President J.D. Vance. And now, it appears Hegseth could be out after barely three months.
“Month From Hell”
In an extremely rare instance in Washington, a top Pentagon spokesman resigned his job, and then immediately published an op-ed in Politico, detailing a “month from hell” at his now-former workplace.
The spokesman, John Ullyot, was a spokesman for multiple agencies during Turmp’s first term, and also worked on the 2016 campaign.
“From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president, who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot writes of the “month of total chaos” inside the Pentagon.
Considering Trump’s record of “holding his top officials to account,” Ullyot speculated that Hegseth might not be long for his current role.
“It’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer,” he wrote.
The author pointed to the recent firing of three of Hegseth’s top aides, who the Pentagon leadership later tried to claim had leaked classified information. Ulloyot called the firings “ a strange and baffling purge.”
Ullyot described himself as a Hegseth loyalist who had even written an op-ed in support his confirmation.
Signalgate I and Signalgate II
It was pushed out of the headlines before long due to tariffs, but Signalgate — the revelation that top Trump officials had discussed plans to attack Yemen over the unsecured app Signal, and had accidentally added reporter Jeffrey Goldberg to the discussion — made headlines for over a week, and particularly made Hegseth look bad. The Defense Secretary, on the message, had mentioned specific war plans.
This took place after Ullyot left the Pentagon. But in the op-ed, he notes that Hegseth “followed horrible crisis-communications advice,” including denials of things that were obviously true, as shown when Goldberg released more of the logs two days later.
Then, the New York Times reported Monday that Hegseth had shared the Yemen plans on a second Signal chat, this one that included his wife and brother. After that story, Hegseth blamed the recently fired aides for the continuing negative stories.
“The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon,” he wrote, using a Yiddish phrase for “craziness.”
Replacement?
But NPR reported Monday that the White House is “looking to replace” Hegseth atop the Pentagon and has begun the process for doing so. The report cited “a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.”
The president, so far, has stood by Hegseth, with the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declaring as much on X, and even declared the NPR story “Total FAKE NEWS.”
It was reported last December that, during a difficult time during the confirmation process, the White House was considering dropping Hegseth in favor of a different candidate, with the name of Gov. Ron DeSantis floated at the time. The White House stuck with Hegseth then, but he may not be so lucky this time.
Sparring with @TheDemocrats
Hegseth had a memorable back-and-forth Monday with @theDemocrats, an official Democratic Party X account. After the account posted “@petehegseth needs to go,” Hegseth replied, “Your agenda is illegals, trans, and DEI- all of which are no longer allowed at DoD.”
The Democrats’ account replied with “Pete’s POV,” and a picture of a blurry iPhone screen.
About the Author:
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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MuricanSwamp
April 27, 2025 at 3:59 am
Who the hell ordered the strikes on the houthis.
That person probably the president is just as bad as hegseth himself.
When you issue an attack order, you have to deal directly with the military commander who’s in charge of the attack. Get his opinion first cuz if something goes awry, his ass is on the line.
Otherwise, FORGET THE HOUTHIS. They aren’t responsible for the horrible terrible slaughters in Gaza.
Jacksonian Libertarian
April 29, 2025 at 11:18 am
Hegseth was made Secretary of Defense to fire the thousands of insubordinate DEI hires that were destroying deterrence and re-invigorating recruitment that had fallen off a cliff.
No American patriot wants to serve next to the mentally ill homos.
Mission Accomplished