Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in trouble again over his alleged careless handling of classified material, and sources close to the White House said patience has worn thin.
Hegseth canceled two previously scheduled visits to military bases in Georgia to attend a White House meeting Thursday after The Washington Post reported he sent classified information over the non-secure Signal app. Sources close to the administration told NOTUS the latest revelations could be the last straw for the embattled cabinet official.
"A source close to the White House described one of President Donald Trump’s top aides as being 'p---ed off' about Hegseth’s time leading the Defense Department and feeling like it was 'time for him to go,'" the website reported. "A second source close to the White House confirmed the characterization of the aide’s stance."
The two sources told NOTUS the defense secretary was wearing out his welcome by repeatedly surprising the White House, such as his recent decision to pause a munitions shipment to Ukraine, and some congressional Republicans feel that his actions deserved consequences.
“I don’t think it’s partisan, but I do think it’s challenging for one branch to tell another branch that we are going to hold them accountable,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The entity that has to hold a secretary of defense accountable specifically is his boss, and that’s the president.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-IL) was the only Republican on the House Armed Services Committee to vote in favor of a measure recently calling for disciplinary action for revealing classified information, as Hegseth has been accused of doing.
“It was common sense that was [classified as] secret,” said Bacon, who retired from the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general. “They’re stating the obvious. I’m glad that they made it official.”
The White House is still publicly standing by Hegseth, but his support in Congress isn't completely stable.
“I get Bacon’s point, but I’m not politicizing anything that happened,” said Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), a former Marine helicopter pilot and Navy commander. “I’m saying, live and learn. If you don’t learn, then go on. If it happens again, then we’ve got to start talking about it. People make mistakes; the mistakes we repeat are the ones that matter.”