The New York Post reported a startling possible explanation for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's spree of firing top Pentagon leadership this week: he's trying to get his potential replacements fired before he himself can be.
Specifically, said the report, Hegseth fears the possibility President Donald Trump could replace him with Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll — and has accordingly been firing people around Driscoll, with possible designs on removing Driscoll himself.
"Hegseth on Thursday demanded the resignation of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George — Driscoll’s top aide — in the middle of the Iran war for reasons that were not publicly stated," said the report. "'This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signalgate. Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters,' an official said, referring to Hegseth’s March 2025 group chat with national security officials that inadvertently included a reporter."
At the time, the Signalgate controversy resulted in the ouster of Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser.
Hegseth remained untouched, but perhaps fears he's been on thin ice regardless.
Another source close to the administration told The Post, “[Hegseth] has got a big conflict with Driscoll. And he’s been told by the White House he can’t fire Driscoll, at least for the moment ... he is very concerned about being fired and he knows that Driscoll is one of the top contenders, or a natural contender, to succeed him. So what Pete has been doing is taking anyone he perceives to be close with Driscoll and going after them. And this is the latest and most spectacular [example] of that.”