'Not out of the woods': Hegseth may be doomed — even if Trump wants to keep him

President Donald Trump's administration has made clear they are still standing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even as a new facet of the "Signalgate" scandal has been exposed — but ultimately, it might not even matter whether Trump wants to keep him, according to an analysis from Politico.

Hegseth already came under fire weeks ago after it emerged that he shared highly sensitive, ongoing military operational strategies in an unsecured Signal chat with a journalist in the discussion. This weekend, it emerged that after the controversy blew up, Hegseth again shared similar content in a Signal chat with his wife and brother.

The Associated Press already reported Trump is planning to replace him, which was immediately dismissed by Trump and his allies as a false story.

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However, according to Dasha Burns, Eli Stokols, and Jake Traylor, "While Trump and Hegseth have been aligned in brushing aside leaks to the press from former Pentagon officials, two people close to the White House suggested on Monday that he’s not out of the woods, because the turmoil inside the Defense Department is real."

One source said Hegseth may “implode on his own,” while another noted that while Trump is sticking with Hegseth for now because of his "vitality and youthfulness," it's potentially a liability even in Trump's eyes that Hegseth's own hand-picked, pro-Trump inner circle are jumping ship.

“Central Casting can become problematic if all they’re doing is generating questions of instability,” said the second person, adding that “What’s so troubling about it is — it’s not like these were people that were forced upon Pete. They were his own guys he had to get rid of.”