Pete Hegseth wants Donald Trump to see him as a fighter in the midst of the negative stories that revolve around the Secretary of Defense, two US officials told NBC News, and has focused more on public and television appearances, even on his old network, Fox News, in which he can speak directly with the president.
Trump had told Hegseth during a recent phone call that did not approve his information about text messages about air attacks in Yemen to a group of signals that included Hegesh’s wife, his brother and his personal lawyer, describing what the Secretary of Defense had done as childish, an American official and another person familiar with the conversation. However, the call ended with Trump telling Hegseth to continue fighting.
While fighting to maintain his work in the midst of an avalanche of reports about his behavior and internal struggles in his pentagon, Hegesh’s behavior has become “erratic”, and seems more and more “insecure” about his work and standing in the administration, which leads him to frequently reinforce the personnel that he cannot afford to be fired, according to two officials familiar with the situation.
The officials operating in the neighborhood of Hegseth describe him as difficult and spiny, and said he scolds and shouts the staff. The officials described a tense atmosphere with the fight, even shouting, among Hegseth’s superior staff.
Last month, Hegesh was furious about the leaks of having approved a military conference for Elon Musk in China, according to multiple defense officials. When the officials discovered that the New York Times was preparing to inform the meeting, Hegseth shouted to Admiral Chris Gray, the interim president of the Chiefs of the General Staff, saying that “him” would fissure “that he would discover it if he leaked the information about the meeting, according to three US officials familiar with the meeting. Hegseth’s personnel also threatened the Polygraph Analm.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that Hegesh shouted Gray and threatened him with a polygraph.
While treating the questions about their work performance, its management of confidential information and how long can it endure, Hegseth has had significantly diminished staff around him.
Last week, three officials: Dan Caldwell, Hegseth main advisor; Darin Selnick, deputy director of Hegseth Cabinet; and Colin Carroll, head of the Cabinet of the Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, were told that they were involved in a leak investigation, administrative license and escorts of the Pentagon. They were not given details about the accusations against them, but they were all terminated last Friday.
They published a joint statement the next day in which they said: “We are incredibly disappointed by the way in which our service ended in the Department of Defense. The officials of the Pentagon Sin Name have slandered our character with attacks without foundation at the door.” They continued to call the “inconceivable” experience, but they said they continue to support the Trump-Vance administration, without referring to any support for Hegseth.
Days after being fired, Selnick and Caldwell were exonerated. It is not clear if Carroll was too.
In another sudden shaking of the staff, Hegseth’s Cabinet Chief, Joe Kasper, also left his role last week. On Monday, a senior defense official provided this statement to NBC News: “Joe Kasper will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee (SGE) who handle special projects in the Department of Defense. Secretary Hegseth is grateful for his continuous leadership and work to advance in the first United States agenda.”
During a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Hegseth was asked if Kasper has a new role. “He stays with us, he will be on a slightly different role, but he does not go anywhere, certainly not dismissed. You make changes over time and we are grateful for everything Joe has done.”
On Friday, the Pentagon announced that Hegseth had taken advantage of four officials who had already been working in the building to support him in what is known as the main office. That includes Justin Fulcher, Patrick Weaver and Ricky Buria as main advisors. Sean Parnell, who has worked as the assistant of the Secretary of Defense of Public Affairs and spokesman for the Chief Pentagon, is now also the main advisor. No individual had been identified as Hegseth’s chief.
“Regular workforce settings are a characteristic of any highly efficient organization,” said Pentagon’s interim press secretary Kingsley Wilson, in a statement. “Secretary Hegesh will continue to be proactive with personnel decisions and will work hard to ensure that the Department of Defense has the right people in the right positions to execute the agenda of President Trump.”
Meanwhile, revelations on the use of Hegseth signal and the potential safety risks that are creating have not stopped coming. The last thing is that Hegseth had a special Internet line installed in his Pentagon office challenging the normal security protocols of the Department of Defense to use the signal application on a personal computer there, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
The so -called “dirty” line, referred to that way because it is not insured, increases the probability that the office will be pirated or monitored by a foreign adversary or other entity because it does not have the same security filters as other very safe lines inside and outside the office. The Hegseth office is considered a SCIF information installation, or sensitive and compartmentalized, which is specially designed to protect communications. The existence of the line was first informed by Associated Press on Thursday.
