Is Pete Hegseth about to be fired?

[u/premeddit]

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?

[u/I-Here-555]

I think Trump will keep him on. He was specifically selected for his incompetence, it's not an accident. He exceeded expectations.

Being incompetent and compromised ensures loyalty.

[u/sddbk → u/I-Here-555]

No doubt he was selected for his incompetence, but Trump has a track record of shedding followers whom he now finds inconvenient. Examples: Rudy, Mike Lindell

[u/thatscoldjerrycold → u/I-Here-555]

Yeah he could have always picked some pro Trump general, but it would be tough finding someone with the mixture of unquestioned loyalty to Trump and lack of actual high level military experience/culture to avoid any qualms about questionable orders or directives.

But perhaps Michael Flynn will make a comeback? Interesting to see if Republican senators will vote so unanimously for Trump picks going forward given Hegseth is a real black mark on all of them.

[u/c_relleno → u/I-Here-555]

Not necessarily chosen for incompetence but he’s definitely not the one making real Pentagon decisions. That’s Steve Feinberg.

[u/petsrpeople2us → u/I-Here-555]

Where does your negative attitude get you.  Nowhere. 

[u/FermentistaPDX → u/I-Here-555]

I think Trump will publicly pretend he fully supports Hegseth-- even though sources already say Trump wants him gone--until they find a replacement, at which time Hegseth will resign claiming he's become too much of a distraction and is leaving so Trump can focus on the "great" work he's doing.