Trump Stands Behind Him As Ex-Aide Blasts Pentagon Turmoil

Topline

The White House defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid new allegations he shared sensitive military information with his wife, brother and lawyer on the encrypted messaging app Signal, marking the latest in a series of controversies—including the firings of high-level staffers—engulfing the Pentagon.

Key Facts

Trump “stands strongly behind” Hegseth, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday, adding that Hegseth “is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,” and alleging “this is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and against the monumental change you are trying to implement.”

The New York Times reported a day earlier, citing four unnamed sources, Hegseth shared with his family members and lawyer the flight schedules of the fighter jets that struck Houthi targets in Yemen—the same information shared on the previously reported Signal chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.

The chat group with Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal lawyer, was reportedly created in January before the former Fox News host was confirmed as Defense Secretary.

The turmoil at the Defense Department was further highlighted in a Sunday Politico op-ed written by John Ullyot, the former Pentagon spokesperson who left office last week, which said: “The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon.”

Ullyot, who described himself as a “strong backer” of the Pentagon chief, said it was “hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

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What Have Pentagon Officials Said About The Signal Chat Report?

The Pentagon’s top spokesperson, Sean Parnell, who took over the role after Ullyot’s exit, dismissed the New York Times report in a post on X. Parnell accused the newspaper and “all other Fake News” of “enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article.” The spokesperson said the sources cited by the story “appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.” Parnell also claimed no classified information was shared on “any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.”

What Else Did Ullyot Say In His Opinion Piece?

Ullyot’s op-ed addressed last week’s firings of three senior Pentagon staffers—Hegseth’s senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the deputy Pentagon chief’s top staffer. The former Pentagon spokesperson accused DOD officials working for Hegseth of trying to “smear” the ousted individuals by “claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information.” Ullyot, however, claimed “none of this” was true, and at least one of the fired staffers had been informed by investigators that he was “about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing.” The op-ed then blasted Hegseth’s team, saying they had “developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.”

What Have The Fired Pentagon Officials Said So Far?

On Saturday, Caldwell, Carroll and Selnick issued a joint statement about their ousters on X, saying: “Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.” The three of them “still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for,” if the investigation was still active, or “if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.” Despite their firings, the trio said they remained “supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength.”