White House officials are growing increasingly “frustrated” with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his continued “string of missteps” and “lack of managerial experience,” the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the White House officials named several actions from Hegseth that continued to test their patience, including his “refusal to part with his acting chief of staff,” Tim Parlatore, whose behavior has raised “conflict-of-interest alarms” and with whom Hegseth has long held close ties to.
The officials also named Hegseth’s “lack of managerial experience in overseeing an entity anywhere near as large as the Pentagon,” with its budget of nearly $1 trillion and around 3.4 million employees, as well as abrupt firings, ethically-questionable polygraph tests to undercut his rivals, and his incompetence related to discussing top secret military plans on on the unsecured encrypted messaging app Signal, discussions that were leaked after a journalist was mistakenly added to the group chat.
Some Republican lawmakers have taken issue with Hegseth’s performance as well, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who in recent weeks has spoken more candidly about his criticisms of President Donald Trump’s administration after announcing his retirement.
“If you just look at the broader turnover and the lack of consistency there in terms of executive management, I think it’s a red flag,” Tillis said, speaking with the Wall Street Journal.
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Another Republican lawmaker, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), told the Wall Street Journal that if it was his decision, Hegseth would have been terminated long ago.
“If I was his boss, I would have fired him,” Bacon said, referring to Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss top secret military plans.
Yet, despite the mounting frustration from White House officials and some Republican lawmakers, it appears unlikely that Hegseth will be axed from his position any time soon.
“There is no indication Hegseth’s job is in jeopardy,” the Wall Street Journal report reads. “Trump and Vice President JD Vance have stuck by him after expending immense personal energy and political capital to see him confirmed. The president likes Hegseth personally and was particularly pleased by the successful U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, officials said.”
And while Hegseth’s job appears to be safe, so long as he remains in the good graces of Trump, NBC News reported Wednesday that he had reportedly had “serious” discussions about finding an exit strategy, one that could potentially include a bid for Tennessee governor.