Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
In recent weeks, Pete Hegseth has sought to move beyond the notable missteps that have come to define his brief tenure as Defense secretary, focusing on key administration goals like targeting DEI programs and cutting military staff. But the former Fox News host has continued to be dogged by reports that call his leadership into question.
One of them involves Hegseth’s heavily criticized use of the encrypted messaging app Signal, which seems to have gone deeper than initially known. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal reports that the Defense secretary took part in at least a dozen chats in the app, many of which were started by Hegseth himself. According to the Journal, Hegseth used the chats to discuss his schedule, foreign travel, and media appearances. And in one instance, used the app to direct aides to share information with foreign governments about a military operation.
Notably, the Journal reports that Ricky Buria, a retired Marine colonel and top aide to Hegseth, used the secretary’s personal phone to send some of his Signal messages, including sensitive information about the Pentagon’s planned attack on Houthi militants, which was shared in a group chat featuring Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal attorney.
It’s not just Signal. Reuters reported Tuesday that in late January, Hegseth personally ordered a pause on 11 flights of military weaponry to Ukraine — a move that caught both Trump and national security officials unaware. (The flights later took off as intended a week later.) Sources tell the outlet that Hegseth’s action followed a meeting about Ukraine in the Oval Office involving Trump, Hegseth and national security officials, in which the idea of ending aid to Ukraine came up. Trump never ordered a halt on the flights himself.
In response to Reuters, the White House said that Hegseth was merely reflecting Trump’s position at the time which was in favor of ending military aid to Ukraine. “Negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War has been a complex and fluid situation. We are not going to detail every conversation among top administration officials throughout the process,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the outlet. “The bottom line is the war is much closer to an end today than it was when President Trump took office.”
Despite everything, it appears to be business as usual for Hegseth. The Defense secretary traveled to Tampa Tuesday to speak at the Special Operations Forces Week conference, doubling down on the Trump administration’s plans for the military.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, the message to our adversaries has been undeniably clear: America is back,” he said.
Trump recently signaled that Hegseth’s future in his Cabinet is secure, defending the Defense secretary publicly during a Michigan rally last week.
“I have so much confidence in him. The fake news is after him, really after him, but he’s a tough cookie. They don’t know how tough he is,” he told the crowd.
