The White House began its search for a new Secretary of Defense amid scandals with Pete Hegseth
The White House has launched a search for a new defense secretary amid scandals surrounding the current head of the department, Pete Hegseth. About this informs NPR.
The basis for this was accusations of improper handling of classified information. Hegseth relayed details of the upcoming strikes on Yemen to his wife and brother via the Signal messenger, using a personal phone. This happened just minutes after he received information from a high-ranking US military official.
In March, it was revealed that Hegset also discussed the details of operations against the Houthis in Yemen in a Signal chat with White House officials. The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally added to this conversation by Michael Waltz, the US president’s national security adviser. Also participating in the chat were Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In this channel, American officials coordinated the military operation against the Yemeni Houthis.
For several days, the journalist had access to discussions about the details of future strikes, including the timing, targets, and type of weapons. Some of the information received was so sensitive that Goldberg refused to publish it. After the operation was completed, the journalist left the group and sent a letter to its members asking about a potential threat to national security.
In recent weeks, four of Hegset’s senior advisers have suddenly left their posts. Some of them were accused of leaking information. All of them publicly pointed to internal conflicts within the Ministry of Defense. Pete Hegseth, a former US Army officer, was the anchor of one of the morning shows on the conservative FOX News channel before his appointment. He was repeatedly accused of alcohol abuse.
