U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reacts during a press conference to discuss the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s "National Farm Security Action Plan," outside the USDA in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) doubled down on his call for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to either resign or be fired, in an interview with NBC's Ryan Nobles on "Meet the Press NOW" discussing his decision not to run for re-election.
Bacon, a former Air Force general and vulnerable swing-seat lawmaker who has generally backed Trump's legislative goals throughout his time in Congress but is increasingly critical of the president's management, previously called for Hegseth to be removed following the "Signalgate" scandal earlier this year, when it was revealed highly sensitive military attack plans were shared in group Signal chats that included Hegseth's family, and a journalist for The Atlantic.
The new incident in which Hegseth allegedly ordered the suspension of weapons transfers to Ukraine behind Trump's back, Bacon said, is yet more proof he's unfit for duty.
"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was responsible for pausing weapon shipments to Ukraine, that pause later overturned," said Nobles. "You told my colleague Scott Wong that whoever ordered the weapons pause should be fired. Do you think Secretary Hegseth should be fired as a result of this?"
"You know, I've said this before about Signalgate," said Bacon. "It wasn't handled well. The secretary should have taken responsibility, admitted he made a mistake, but instead he doubled down, blamed the journalists, and then denied there was a problem with putting sensitive data on an unclassified system for attack. And I called for his resignation or being fired then, and I feel the same way now."
"When he makes the decision to not send weapons to Ukraine that was appropriated by Congress, signed by the previous president, and he didn't even notify President Trump or seek his approval — and it embarrassed the president, he had to address this on a world stage why these weapons were shut off, and he didn't know!" said Bacon. "And so yes, the Secretary of Defense should show better judgment here."
Watch the video below or at the link here.