Pentagon faces ‘meltdown’ as Trump backs Hegseth amid second Signal chat storm

Pete Hegseth’s former spokesman said the Pentagon has been overwhelmed by staff drama and turnover in the initial months of the second Trump administration, calling it a “full-blown meltdown” that could cost the defence secretary his job.

The warning from John Ullyot, who resigned last week after briefly serving as Pentagon spokesman, followed statements by three top Defence Department officials who were reportedly fired amid an inquiry into leaks and said they weren’t told what they were being investigated for or if there was even a leaks probe ongoing at all.

Trump “stands strongly” behind Hegseth, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday on Fox News. “And this is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.”

Hegseth, a 44-year-old former Fox News host and National Guard officer, had already been under scrutiny for sharing confidential information detailing an imminent attack against Houthi militants in Yemen in a Signal chat group. The group included top Trump officials as well as journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who wrote about the episode for The Atlantic.

“President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account,” Ullyot wrote on Sunday in a column for Politico. “Given that, it’s hard to see Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Trump declined to remove Hegseth or National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who set up the Signal chat, over the episode. The Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating that incident, at the request of two top senators.