Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is taking heavy fire once again. In what looks like a coordinated attack, Sunday brought a sensational new allegation of Hegseth violating operational security (OPSEC) ahead of the March 15 US strikes on Yemen, and an op-ed from a former Hegseth advocate calling for his removal over “total chaos at the Pentagon.” While it’s hard to discern motives in DC’s House of Cards intrigue, the renewed assault comes after Hegseth reportedly helped dissuade President Trump from launching Israel’s long-pursued US war on Iran.
Last month, Hegseth found himself in the middle of a media and political firestorm after he unwittingly shared detailed information about pending US strikes on Yemen with Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg — who was errantly added to a Signal group chat for top officials by national security advisor Mike Waltz . Hegseth didn’t do himself any favors by downplaying the report and attempting to obfuscate the facts of the scandal — for example, using wordplay to claim “nobody was texting war plans,” but rather minute-by-minute details of the attack. Goldberg’s inclusion aside, the use of a common smartphone app to discuss such sensitive details was controversial by itself, raising concerns not only about OPSEC, but also records retention.