Sources close to the White House say the president is growing more frustrated with his Defense Secretary’s bad press—but Trump’s unofficial “no scalps” policy still seems to apply.
During Pete Hegseth’s contentious confirmation hearing to become Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary, Democrats argued that the Fox News morning host lacked the management experience to lead a department with an $850 billion budget. Now past his 100-day mark, Trump is coming to share that view. According to three sources close to the White House, Trump has told people he is frustrated with the chaos swirling around Hegseth and the Pentagon.
In recent weeks, Hegseth dismissed three of his closest advisers, whom he later accused of leaking to the media—all three have denied it—and his chief of staff stepped down. “He fired all the people he trusted,” a prominent Republican who recently spoke with Hegseth told me. Hegseth was also at the center of Signalgate, having shared military attack plans in chats with White House officials and another group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. (While Hegseth’s brother and lawyer have roles in government, they are outside of the circle that would typically be informed on such issues.) A senior White House official told me Trump recently ordered Hegseth to get his act together. Trump hinted at his displeasure in an interview with The Atlantic this week, telling the magazine: “I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him.”
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, responded on Tuesday: “The media constantly relies on bad sources who desperately want to drive a wedge between President Trump and his Cabinet officials. Unfortunately for them, the President continues to stand with Secretary Hegseth, who is doing an incredible job leading the DOD and is joining the President in Michigan today.”
Sources close to Hegseth told me the stress of the job seems to be fueling his chaotic decision-making. “He’s very paranoid,” said the prominent Republican. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Hegseth challenged the then acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take a lie detector test as part of a leak investigation. “I’ll hook you up to a f—ing polygraph!” Hegseth reportedly shouted at Admiral Christopher Grady. Sources told me that Hegseth is relying on a shrinking circle of advisers that includes his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, and his wife, Jennifer, a former Fox & Friends producer.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
Most remarkably, Hegseth’s former advisers are speaking out on the record. In mid-April, former Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot wrote a Politico op-ed that described a “full-blown meltdown” at the Pentagon under Hegseth. On Saturday, former Pentagon adviser Colin Carroll appeared on Megyn Kelly’s podcast and portrayed Hegseth as image-conscious and obsessed with leaks. When asked by Kelly if he thought Hegseth was emotionally okay, Carroll replied: “I honestly—I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
