Pete Hegseth’s Controversy: Pete Hegseth does “huge work”: Despite a lot of controversy, why doesn’t Trump fire the U.S. Secretary of Defense?
President Donald Trump came out to defend Pete Hegseth and said: “Pete did a great job and everyone was happy with him.” Trump said disdainfully: “He did a great job. Asked Hosthers how he performed.” On Monday, the bystander at the White House Easter egg roll event was referring to Yemen’s rebel group.
Also read: “Trying to find something new”: Trump supports Pete Hegseth
White House Defends Pete Heggs
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was doing “huge work” and “is making a huge difference to the Pentagon,” she said, prompting a “smearing campaign” to him.
A reporter asked Leavitt to object to her comments that the recently left Pentagon officials were dissatisfied and worked with Hegseth because they were part of his inner circle.
“They are Pentagon employees and they leaked their bosses,” Levitt said. The fired employees said their personalities were vilified.
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SignalChat leak dispute
The New York Times reported that Pete Hegseth shared information about our strike in Yemen in a second signal group chat last month, including a family, his personal attorney and several top Pentagon aides. The controversy comes a month after adding a reporter to the signal group chat, where U.S. cabinet officials, including Heggs, discussed plans to attack the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Heggs revealed plans for the U.S. strike against Hottis in a series of messages, and then they happened in a signal group chat, which included his wife, his brother and many top military aides. Those directly familiar with the messages said that the details Heggs sent were essentially the same as the one he shared in a separate signal group chat earlier this year, with the exception of JD Vance and other senior Trump officials, which mistakenly included editors from the Atlantic.
Heggs has been under pressure from people outside the White House. Trump called Pete Hegseth on Sunday after the story broke down, according to a report from The Guardian.
Please read also: A week of chaos in the Pentagon: U.S. Army Commander Surprised at Trump, Vance and Heggs’ Insults
In the second semester, Trump avoided firing senior officials, and despite his frustration with negative coverage, his purpose seemed to be succumbing to media pressure. He also continues to support his national security adviser Mike Waltz, who included editors from the Atlantic in the initial group chat.
According to people familiar with the matter, Trump assured Pete Hegseth of his support, blamed the story for the first time the New York Times reported.
Trump also directed his team to support Heggs publicly. Senior aides responded to the government’s position that no classified information was shared in any group chat – although the reasons for Hergs’ wife remained, they did not hold the Pentagon role, including in the conversation.
What does Pete Hegseth say?
When asked about the second signal chat during the White House Easter Eggs game on the South Lawn, the Secretary of Defense himself seemed angry and told reporters that the story was a “hot single” repeating his defense that it was pushed by “displeased former employees.”
Also Read: Who is Colonel Sheyla Baez Ramirez, U.S. Army Commander, after the photo controversy?
But Hegseth is facing increasing pressure to resign, wrote in a remarkable opinion piece on Sunday in Politico.
Republican Congressman Don Bacon, sitting on the House Armed Committee, did not explicitly call on Hegseth to resign, but suggested that he would not leave Hegseth in place if he was president.
“I was worried from the beginning because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” said former Air Force General Bacon. “I’m not in the White House and wouldn’t tell the White House how to manage this…but I found it unacceptable and I wouldn’t tolerate it if I was in charge.”
