Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s original Signal chat scandal was, by any fair measure, devastating. The former Fox News host expressed certainty that he and his colleagues — while chatting on a free platform that has never been approved for chats about national security and classified intelligence — had locked everything down and created a secure channel of communications while discussing a potentially dangerous foreign military operation, but he was spectacularly wrong.
The sequel, however, adds insult to injury.
According to NBC News, the beleaguered Pentagon chief was specifically warned to be careful not to share sensitive information on an unsecure communications system before a military operation in Yemen, but Hegseth nevertheless used his personal phone to send information about the mission to a 13-person Signal group chat — which included his wife.
We’ve known for weeks about allegations that Hegseth included his wife in meetings in which sensitive information was discussed, despite the fact that she does not have the necessary security clearance, but including her on a Signal group chat about the granular details of an imminent military strike makes the defense secretary look even worse.
To date, the Pentagon has not denied the existence of the Signal chat, though a DOD spokesperson insisted that Hegseth did not disclose classified information. That defense was more than just unpersuasive. The latest NBC News report explained that minutes before U.S. fighter jets took off to begin strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last month, Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, who leads U.S. Central Command, “used a secure U.S. government system to send detailed information about the operation” to Hegseth.
The material Kurilla sent included details about when U.S. fighters would take off and when they would hit their targets — details that could, if they fell into the wrong hands, put the pilots of those fighters in grave danger. … But then Hegseth used his personal phone to send some of the same information Kurilla had given him to at least two group text chats on the Signal messaging app, three U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges told NBC News.
It’s against this backdrop that there’s also increasing personnel turmoil at the Pentagon, with five leading officials either being forced out or reassigned in the last week.
In a normal administration, Hegseth would be putting his belongings in a cardboard box right about now, but as The New York Times reported, at least for now, the Cabinet secretary continues to enjoy the White House’s backing. Donald Trump, apparently indifferent to the fact that Hegseth appears to be doing a terrible job, specifically told reporters that Hegseth is doing “a great job,” adding that he has full confidence in his Pentagon chief and considers the latest reporting “fake news.”
For his part, the defense secretary also responded to the latest allegations by telling reporters he had no use for accusations from “disgruntled former employees.” He went on to describe journalists as “hoaxsters,” adding, “[W]e’re fighting the fake news media.”
To the extent that reality has any bearing on the debate, Hegseth’s job is to fight America’s enemies, not America’s journalists.
Nevertheless, the question isn’t whether the White House has rallied behind the defense secretary as his increasingly ridiculous tenure draws fresh fire. Rather, the question is how long Hegseth will remain in the president’s good graces. At this point, as the Times’ report noted, Trump “has been adamant, in private, about not giving the ‘fake news’ media the satisfaction of seeing him fire one of his top officials in a scandal.” But while that might buy Hegseth some time, it does not necessarily offer any long-term guarantees about his job security. The fact remains that the Pentagon is increasingly chaotic — according to Trump appointees, because of Hegseth’s failed leadership — and there’s fresh evidence that the defense secretary’s GOP support on Capitol Hill is weakening, with the first Republican member of Congress to having endorsed Hegseth’s ouster. There have been related reports this week about annoyed White House officials who believe Hegseth has thrown the administration off message at a difficult time, which dovetail with related reports about the degree to which he’s lost the confidence of top military leaders. What’s more, there’s increased scuttlebutt that the allegations against Hegseth will continue to reach the public in the coming days, which will only add to the pressure. In his first term, Trump backed plenty of controversial allies until they became politically inconvenient distractions. Will Hegseth suffer the same fate? Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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