(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump continues to stand behind Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after another Signal chat controversy surfaced over the weekend.
“The President absolutely has confidence in Secretary Hegseth. I spoke to him about it this morning, and he stands strongly behind him,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
The New York Times reported Sunday that Hegseth shared sensitive information about planned strikes in Yemen in a private chat on the Signal app, including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.
Trump later made it clear: “We have the highest recruitment numbers I think we’ve had in 28 years. No, he’s doing a great job. It’s just fake news. They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. He was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people and that’s what he’s doing so you don’t always have friends when you do that.”
In late March, The Atlantic broke news of how its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, had mistakenly been included on a text thread between a number of cabinet members and administration higher-ups in the encrypted Signal messaging app. The thread included times of planned attacks against the Yemeni rebel group the Houthis and the weapons involved. The administration said it was a mistake but has said no classified information was shared.
Defense Department’s acting inspector general is investigating the first Signal chat to determine the extent to which Hegseth and other Pentagon officials “complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business” and “compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” according to a letter.
Hegseth, who attended the Easter Egg roll at the White House on Monday, blamed the media.
“This is what the media does,” Hegseth said. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.”
Some were quick to defend the defense secretary, a former Fox News anchor.
U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, R-Ariz., said he supports Hegseth.
“As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have full confidence in @PeteHegseth and his team at DoD,” Hamadeh wrote. “The fake news had its sights on him since he was first nominated, yet he’s been moving positive changes at lightning speed.”
Leavitt also blamed the media and those in the Pentagon who oppose Hegseth’s leadership. She said Hegseth was doing a “phenomenal job” leading the Pentagon.
“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement,” Leavitt said.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell took a similar position, saying “Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda.
Parnell said no classified information was involved.
“There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story,” Parnell said Sunday. “What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda.”
