NPR reports:

The White House has begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

This comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to find himself mired in controversy. NPR has also confirmed with the same official that Hegseth shared details ahead of last month’s Yemen strikes with his wife and brother in a Signal chat on his personal phone, minutes after being updated by a senior U.S. military official. The news of the second Signal group chat about the mission was first reported by The New York Times.

In March, Hegseth shared details about action against Houthi targets in Yemen in a Signal chat with top White House officials that accidentally included a journalist. [Continue reading…]

Politico reports:

Rep. Don Bacon, a prominent Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, became the first sitting GOP lawmaker Monday to suggest President Donald Trump should fire Pete Hegseth — calling the chaos at the Pentagon one reason why many Hill Republicans were privately uneasy with the Defense secretary’s nomination in the first place.

“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon, a former Air Force general who now chairs of the subcommittee on cyber issues, said in an interview. “I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.”

The Nebraska lawmaker also said that while he didn’t feel it was his place to call on Hegseth to resign, he wouldn’t stand for Hegseth’s mismanagement were he the occupant of the Oval Office. [Continue reading…]

Politico reports:

President Donald Trump “stands strongly behind Pete Hegseth,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning, defending the scandal-plagued Defense secretary against escalating criticism from Democrats and former senior officials.

Hegseth “is doing phenomenal leading the Pentagon,” Leavitt said in a “Fox & Friends” appearance. “This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change you are trying to implement.” [Continue reading…]

Politico reports:

President Donald Trump has privately reassured and publicly defended Pete Hegseth over the past 24 hours. But doubts among Trump’s allies are growing over how long the embattled Defense secretary can hold on.

While Trump and Hegseth have been aligned in brushing aside leaks to the press from former Pentagon officials, two people close to the White House suggested on Monday that he’s not out of the woods, because the turmoil inside the Defense Department is real.

The two people were granted anonymity to discuss internal personnel dynamics.

As one of them put it, the former Fox News Channel host may “implode on his own.”

The other person close to the White House acknowledged that Trump likes Hegseth’s “vitality and youthfulness,” but could grow tired by the distraction and disorder inside the Pentagon. “Central Casting can become problematic if all they’re doing is generating questions of instability,” the second person said, noting that one of the individuals Hegesth fired last week was his own former chief of staff.

“What’s so troubling about it is — it’s not like these were people that were forced upon Pete. They were his own guys he had to get rid of.” [Continue reading…]