A recently departed top Pentagon aide goaded President Donald Trump to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from his Cabinet, describing ‘total chaos’ and ‘dysfunction’ within the top brass of the military. <\/p>\n
‘The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president \u2013 who deserves better from his senior leadership,’ John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon, wrote in an op-ed for Politico published on Sunday. <\/p>\n
‘Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it\u2019s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.’<\/p>\n
Ullyot departed the Pentagon\u2019s public affairs office last week because he did not want to be second-in-command to chief spokesperson Sean Parnell. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Pentagon fired three Hegseth aides \u2013 Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick \u2013 three of the secretary\u2019s ‘most loyal’ advisers, according to Ullyot. He called the purge ‘strange’ and ‘baffling.’<\/p>\n
Following them out the door is chief of staff Joe Kasper, who the three men frequently found themselves at odds with, three defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. <\/p>\n
‘In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth\u2019s leadership.’<\/p>\n
He called himself a ‘strong backer’ of Hegseth, but admitted: ‘The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon \u2013 and it\u2019s becoming a real problem for the administration.’<\/p>\n
The shake-ups came just as reports broke about a second Signal chat where Hegseth discussed plans to strike Houthis in Yemen, this one allegedly including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.<\/p>\n
That chat reportedly discussed flight schedules for the F\/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen \u2013 similar information to that shared in the chat of Trump Cabinet members where national security advisor Mike Waltz unintentionally added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. <\/p>\n
‘Another day, another old story,’ Parnell said in a statement after the latest Signal chat reporting. ‘There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
‘Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama,’ Ullyot wrote. <\/p>\n
‘The president deserves better than the current mishegoss<\/i> at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary\u2019s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.’<\/p>\n
Trump allies eviscerated Ullyot on social media after the op-ed was published. <\/p>\n
‘This guy is not America First,’ Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. ‘I\u2019ve been hearing for years that he works his ass off to subvert my father\u2019s agenda. That ends today. He\u2019s officially exiled from our movement.’<\/p>\n
‘If you\u2019re echoing Democrat talking points, you no longer support President Trump or his administration. There\u2019s no gray area here,’ added Trump advisor Jason Miller. <\/p>\n
The White House, meanwhile, ‘stands strongly’ behind Hegseth, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday. <\/p>\n
‘The President stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,’ she said. This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.’<\/p>\n
Hegseth also brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on ‘disgruntled employees’ and ‘anonymous smears.’<\/p>\n
‘This is why we\u2019re fighting the fake news media,’ he said when pressed on the chat by reporters at the White House Easter Egg roll. ‘This group right here is full of hoaxsters.’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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