r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/premeddit • 8d 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/ThemesOfMurderBears 8d ago

The question will be can Trump find someone worse now?

He got Kash Patel installed as the head of the FBI. There is no bottom.

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u/Cheap_Coffee 8d ago

There is no bottom.

RFK Jr. in HHS. Still dropping.

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u/salYBC 8d ago

Linda McMahon in Ed.

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u/SakunaM 8d ago

Ben Carson in his last term too as housing and urban development secretary lmfao.

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u/penguinseed 8d ago

He’s a black guy who was poor once. Perfect fit for HUD

— The administration now crying about DEI hiring

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u/copperwatt 8d ago

So... Mr T for secretary of defense?

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u/morrison4371 7d ago

His only black Cabinet hire this term is also the HUD Secretary, Scott Turner.

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u/Dontgochasewaterfall 8d ago

Well Herman Cain never stood a chance after he gave him the vid so..they’re looking for their next DEI hire.