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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has managed to surround himself at the Pentagon with advisers who have become power-hungry rivals, leading to surprise firings, leak accusations, and revenge attempts, according to a Politico report.
Unfortunate headlines are streaming out of the department, and it’s become a distraction to Trump’s agenda and possibly even a threat to Hegseth’s job, the outlet noted.
Incoming officials planned on having Hegseth be the face of the department while others ran the show behind the scenes. That hasn’t come to pass.
While other battles within the second Trump administration can be boiled down to ideology as more regular conservatives clash with MAGA firebrands, the showdown at the Department of Defense appears to be mostly personality-driven.
Nine current and former officials at the department told Politico about how Hegseth’s advisers fought for influence, leading to distrust and deception that has shaken the department.
“There’s just a lot of tension, there’s a lot of bad blood,” one person with insight told the outlet. “And there’s a lot of people trying to assert dominance in an area where it’s very hard to do without cutting somebody else.”
Hegseth grew to suspect that the recent media leaks were part of an effort by his top staff to tarnish the image of their rivals, a person close to the secretary told Politico.
People familiar with the situation said Hegseth’s outgoing chief of staff, Joe Kasper, created a toxic working environment and played a large part in the removals of three top officials last week in an attempt to consolidate power, allegations Kasper has rejected.
The fired staff members, who didn’t comment on the story, included senior adviser Dan Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll. They were viewed as some of Hegseth’s closest advisers.
“We had people who had personal vendettas against us,” Caldwell told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday. “They weaponized the investigation against us.”
In a recent interview, Kasper said he had done what Hegseth had told him to do and had initiated an investigation into leaks to the press. The Pentagon rejected the notion of a personality feud at the department, according to Politico.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing on Tuesday that those who had been removed had been leaking to the press and that a “smear campaign” was taking place within the Pentagon against Hegseth.
“It’s been clear since day one of this administration that we are not going to tolerate individuals who leaked to the mainstream media, particularly when it comes to sensitive information,” said Leavitt.
Hegseth appeared on Fox & Friends on Fox News on Tuesday, saying that Kasper is “certainly not fired.”
“You make changes over time,” he added. Politico reported Friday that Kasper was leaving for a new role at the department.
One person told Politico that “When Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick took on many of his responsibilities at Hegseth’s direction, a rift deepened between Joe and them.”
“After several weeks, Joe began trying to move them out, apparently by bad-mouthing them to the secretary,” they added.
Kasper rejected any notion that he had any problems with the other advisers.
Hegseth eventually fired some of his top staff last week, believing they were leaking information to the press.
“There is a complete meltdown in the building, and this is really reflecting on the secretary’s leadership,” a person with knowledge told Politico. “Pete Hegseth has surrounded himself with some people who don’t have his interests at heart.”
The secretary has faced additional problematic headlines in recent days after he reportedly sent sensitive information about military strikes in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal attorney.
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