The Pete Hegseth Collapse Looks Unstoppable Now

Things are looking a bit untenable, at the moment, for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon.

Pete Hegseth: What Will Trump Do with Him?

Hegseth, a longtime Fox News host, had the hardest time getting confirmed of any Trump cabinet member, with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance necessary to get him through.

Since his tenure began, Hegseth was part of the Signalgate scandal, as well as a second incident in which he was found to have texted Yemen attack plans to a second Signal chat, consisting of relatives.

Then, there were several firings and other staff departures from the Hegseth-led Pentagon, including his own chief of staff and other staffers who were seen as Hegseth’s people.

This week, John Ullyot, until recently a spokesman for Hegseth at the Pentagon, authored an op-ed detailing a “month from hell” and “month from total chaos” at the Defense Department.

While declaring that he has been and remains Hegseth’s friend, Ullyot wrote in the op-ed that “it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

NPR, earlier this week, reported that the Trump Administration was already looking for a successor for Hegseth, but this was denounced as “total fake news” by the White House press secretary, and Trump has stuck by Hegseth.

Implosion for Hegseth?

With Hegseth still in place, for now, another Politico piece on Monday looked at how even though Trump has maintained his support for the Defense secretary, he could end up “imploding” anyway.

According to the reported piece by Dasha Burns, Eli Stockols and Jake Traylor, “doubts among Trump’s allies are growing over how long the embattled Defense secretary can hold on.”

The report added that “two people close to the White House suggested on Monday that he’s not out of the woods, because the turmoil inside the Defense Department is real.”

One source noted that Hegseth came into his position thanks in part to Trump’s penchant for “central casting” picks- he likes to choose people for major jobs who “look the part.”

“Central Casting can become problematic if all they’re doing is generating questions of instability,” Politico’s source said.

Trump, though, is reportedly hesitant to get rid of Hegseth for a possibly surprising reason: It would appear to confirm the news reports about the Pentagon being in disarray.

The Gaetz Precedent

Trump’s continuing support certainly matters. After all, in Trump’s first term, the majority of cabinet secretaries who left or were dismissed were people like Jeff Sessions and Rex Tillerson, who broke with Trump or were seen to have shown disloyalty. An ultra-loyalist like Hegseth would not appear to have that problem.

One precedent is Matt Gaetz, briefly Trump’s nominee to serve as attorney general before his second term. Gaetz, like Hegseth, has a long list of past controversies and even allegations of serious misconduct, but was seen as unshakably loyal to Trump. Gaetz withdrew his nomination, however, when it was clear that he lacked support in the Senate to attain confirmation.

Hegseth has already been confirmed, despite losing a couple of Republican Senate votes. But if Trumpworld finds his position untenable, he could find himself out of the administration before long.

Threatening Leakers

Amid the talk of his firing, Hegseth has been defending himself publicly, first at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, shortly after the NPR report that he was being replaced, and then again in an appearance Tuesday on his old network, Fox News, where he threatened to prosecute his ex-aides for leaking against him.

Per The Daily Beast, Hegseth went on Fox and Friends and declared that “when evidence is gathered, and this happened quickly, it will be handed over to DOJ and the people will be prosecuted.”

Assuming ex-Pentagon staffers were on the Signal chat and told the media about it, it’s not clear what law may have been broken.

He also said of Ullyot, the author of “Month from hell” op-ed, that “anybody that knows John knows why we let him go.”

About the Author: Stephen Silver

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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