President Donald Trump’s ouster of national security adviser Mike Waltz has shined the spotlight on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Defense (DOD) via email Thursday for comment.
Why It Matters
The DOD has faced increased scrutiny after Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials engaged in a Signal group chat that included a journalist while discussing imminent war plans. The handling of the sensitive military discussions among Trump’s brass triggered widespread U.S. security concerns.
Hegseth and Waltz have repeatedly rebuked the initial report from Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Immediately after the reports, Waltz and Trump were seen in a Cabinet meeting, where the president tasked Waltz with investigating the incident.
Hegseth was also involved in another Signal chat, which included his wife, brother and personal attorney, involving imminent attack plans, The New York Times reported.
Hegseth called out the news reports of the second group chat, saying in part, “this is what the media does.” Trump has repeatedly come to Hegseth’s side in the immediate aftermath of both incidents.
What To Know
Democrats swarmed to social media after news of Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, being removed from their positions.
Trump also announced the developments, which included his nomination for Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The position would require Senate confirmation.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona on Thursday took to X, formerly Twitter, calling out Hegseth: “Mike Waltz out as National Security Advisor while Pete Hegseth keeps his job as Secretary of Defense. If anyone should get canned, it’s Hegseth.”
Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senate minority leader from New York, also chimed in on X to rip the secretary of defense: “Now do Hegseth.”
The DOD has experienced personnel shake-ups within the department, as critics say it’s a sign of internal chaos, with Hegseth at the helm.
The Pentagon had been investigating internal leaks, prompting multiple firings that were immediately met with questions from the former employees, wondering why they were being investigated.
The firings included former top adviser to Hegseth, Dan Caldwell, former Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire in a thread on X pointed to this, calling the turnover “alarming.”
“🧵Mike Waltz’s abrupt dismissal is further proof of the chaos and incompetence that has reigned over President Trump’s White House and national security team during his first 100 days in office,” Shaheen said.
She continued in multiple posts: “The stunning amount of turnover of senior staff at both the National Security Council and at the Pentagon is alarming. Purges of senior military officers, mass firings of top career officials for perceived political disloyalty and the illegal dismantling of America’s foreign policy institutions only hurts our security and signals weakness to our foes. We should all be worried that these actions are being pushed by fringe elements inside and outside the Administration.”
Concluding, Shaheen said, “It is important that there be accountability for the sharing of classified information on non-secure platforms. But we should remember that it was Secretary Hegseth who initially shared this material and did so a second time with his family. He too must be held accountable.”
What People Are Saying
Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, posted to X on Thursday: “Reminder that Pete Hegseth is still serving in an incredibly important job that he has repeatedly shown he cannot do.”
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Democrat, posted to X on Thursday: “Took them long enough. Mike Waltz knowingly made an unclassified chain to discuss classified matters. But of all the idiots in that chat, Hegseth is the biggest security risk of all—he leaked the info that put our troops in greater danger. Fire and investigate them all.”
Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday: “I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
The president continued, “In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Vice President JD Vance, in a Thursday interview on Fox News with Bret Baier on Special Report, in part: “So, he wasn’t let go. He is being made ambassador to the United Nations which of course is a Senate-confirmed position. I think you could make a good argument that it’s a promotion.”
Vance continued, “We brought Mike on to do some serious reforms to the National Security Council, he has done that. I like Mike, I think he’s a great guy, he’s got the trust of both me and the president. But we also thought that he’d make a better UN ambassador as we get beyond this stage of the reforms that we’ve made to the National Security Council. You saw the president announce that Marco Rubio is going to step in as interim leader of the National Security Council.”
Concluding, the vice president said: “So … look, I think the media wants to frame this as a firing. Donald Trump has fired a lot of people; he doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterwards. What he thinks is that Mike Waltz is going to better serve the administration, most importantly the American people, in that role and I happen to agree with him.”
What Happens Next
Waltz will be subject to Senate confirmation hearings to formally be chosen as U.N. ambassador.
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