Ever since US President Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary, the former Fox News host has been in the hot seat.
Before his Senate confirmation, Hegseth faced a slew of allegations about his drinking, behavior toward women – including from his own mother – and financial mismanagement. Soon after starting the job, he had to walk back comments about whether Ukraine could gain NATO membership. Then there was the Signal chat, where Hegseth shared US war plans ahead of strikes on the Houthi rebel group.
Turns out, it wasn’t the only Signal chat where Hegseth shared plans: The New York Times reported Sunday that he also messaged his wife, brother, and lawyer about the scheduled strikes. The knives appear to be out for him: One of Hegseth’s former spokespeople at the Pentagon, John Ullyot, said the department had been “total chaos” over the past month, and that it is “hard to see [Hegseth] remaining in his role for much longer.”
Dark clouds ahead. NPR reported Monday that the White House is scouting a replacement for Hegseth, even as the president defended him publicly and privately. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt panned the NPR story, without explicitly denying the contents of it. Adding to the furore, US Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) has become the first Republican lawmaker to call for Hegseth’s head.
“Hegseth is rapidly becoming untenable in his position, though Trump appears committed to keeping him at least for right now,” according to Eurasia Group US Director Clayton Allen. “That could easily change if additional stories break this week.”
Breathing a sigh of relief. It looked like National Security Advisor Michael Waltz might be the fall guy for creating the original Signal chat, but the looming concern over Hegseth’s future has relieved the pressure on Waltz — at least for now.