Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has become afraid of President Donald Trump over mounting frustrations with the Iran war, The Daily Mail reported Saturday.
Anonymous insiders say that Trump is increasingly turning away from Hegseth after the two got into an argument at Camp David earlier this month, according to the report. Instead, Trump is turning more to another one of his favored "yes-men," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
"One is a sledgehammer, and the other is a scalpel," an anonymous insider told The Daily Mail.
Lately, Trump has been elevating Bessent at meetings with Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to another anonymous insider familiar with the meetings.
"The environment changed," the insider said.
On Monday, Bessent unveiled Operation Economic Outcast, a drive to sanction Iran and its trading partners that Bessent described as "economic D-Day." The operation came as the Trump administration realized "it can't bludgeon them anymore," the insider explained.
The Defense secretary continues to be among the "yes-men" who make up Trump's advisers, according to The Daily Mail.
But a GOP member on the House Armed Services Committee told The Daily Mail, "Hegseth is afraid of Trump and won't be as honest as he should about the war for fear of losing his job."
Bessent holds a seat on the National Security Council and has "always had a big role in Iran," an anonymous administration official told The Daily Mail. Bessent is seen as a straight shooter who earned Trump's confidence, the insider added.
"He's very trusted," the insider told The Daily Mail. "It's not just on Iran. His stock is increasing. He's just more and more involved in things."
Another anonymous White House official told the Daily Mail, "Secretary Bessent has been involved throughout this entire conflict, and Secretary Hegseth will continue to be heavily involved."
