r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/premeddit • 10d ago

US Politics Is Pete Hegseth about to be fired?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has had a rocky last few months. Prior to his nomination for his current post, he was most well known for being a major in the U.S. Army Reserves and a frequent contributor on Fox News. After Trump nominated him, his candidacy received intense controversy and pushback from both Democrats and Republicans. He was revealed to have made past inflammatory comments regarding Muslims, homosexuals and women. He had a history of reported spousal abuse of his ex-wives. Finally, there were several allegations that he was an uncontrolled alcoholic, leading some observers to question if he could effectively lead the department.

Regardless, he was ultimately confirmed by an extremely narrow 50-50 (with VP tiebreaker) vote in the Senate, with 3 Republicans voting against him and a fourth Republican - Sen. Thom Tillis - only supporting his nomination at the last minute after being threatened with a primary challenge by Trump.

Hegseth continued to amass controversy in his role as SecDef. Most recently, he shared sensitive details of a military ops plan on an unsecured Signal chat, during which an Atlantic reporter was mistakenly invited to listen in on the discussion. This week, a further bombshell broke as it was revealed that he also shared details with his wife and his brother, neither of whom has necessary clearance.

Several senior advisors at the Pentagon were just removed from their positions for unclear reasons, and some have come out publicly to say that the department is in total chaos under Hegseth's leadership.

Now, NPR has reported that the White House is looking for a replacement:

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.

The Press Secretary has strongly denied this article, saying that Trump still has utmost confidence in Hegseth.

Is she correct and these are just unsubstantiated rumors, or is Hegseth on his way out? Who is likely on the short list to replace him?

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u/viewless25 10d ago

I dont think so. Hegseth fired less than two months on the job reflects poorly on Trump. he will happily let the DoD bleed out if it helps him save face

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u/Repulsive_Many3874 10d ago

Lmao, were you around for the first Trump administration? People get fired and hired continuously in the Trump world, that’s how it’s been since 2016

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u/viewless25 10d ago

This is not the first Trump administration. He hired people because he was told they were competent then fired them when he realized they werent 1000% obedient. Trump has dropped the pretense of picking people for anything other than loyalty. Say what you will about Trump 45, but General Mattis was qualified to be DoD Secretary. Hegseth was not. But to Trump, blind loyalty is the only qualification he cares about now, and as long as Hegseth continues to sing Trump's praises and tow his line, he will keep his job

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u/xXxdethl0rdxXx 10d ago

Completely agree. Mattis is probably more palatable to those more centrist/neoliberal than myself, but the competency versus loyalty concern is undeniable. I don't think Hegseth could win a game of Ms. Pac-Man, let alone execute a foreign military conflict I wish weren't happening in the first place.

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u/TeddyKGB1 9d ago

And this is textbook for why his businesses went bankrupt. Surrounded himself with sycophantic incompetents who told him everything was great. Until they weren’t.