Several White House insiders have revealed cracks in President Donald Trump’s relationship with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Citing two outside advisers close to Trump, new reporting in The Atlantic reveals the president has begun questioning a group of close allies over Hegseth’s performance as head of the Department of Defense, and is even considering using the 46-year-old as a scapegoat for the flailing war effort in Iran.
The advisers, and other unidentified figures close to Trump, said they believe these conversations are possibly a prelude to Hegseth’s firing, based on Trump’s past behavior when making changes to his Cabinet, according to the report.
“Hegseth is good at telling the president what he wants to hear,” one of the outside advisers told the Atlantic.
He has also been soliciting opinions on Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Gen. Dan Caine, according to the sources.
Hegseth and Caine have led the effort to advise Trump throughout the war. Hegseth, in particular, has been the public face of the conflict, consistently reasserting that Iran was pursuing nuclear arms before the war began.
Trump is currently weighing whether he should renew strikes on Iran after the midterms, receiving detailed options for campaigns from Hegseth and Caine that range from days to weeks of additional strikes–as well as an option to cease the conflict entirely, the Atlantic reports, adding that he has not yet given any orders to resume strikes.
The two advisers and an official said Trump has fumed in recent weeks and credits the war with his political troubles.
The White House and the Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Atlantic, “President Trump and everyone at the White House have full confidence in both Secretary Hegseth and General Caine, who are fully aligned with the President’s mission.”
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, added in a separate statement to the Atlantic that “Secretary Hegseth always provides the President and White House senior leaders the full operational picture.”
Parnell added that Hegseth was committed to “promoting the right senior military officers to leadership positions and retiring those who are unwilling to effectively serve the only person in government elected by the whole of the American people: President Donald J. Trump.”
Hegseth, a former Fox News pundit, has described the conflict to Trump in purely positive terms, without accurately briefing the president about the situation on the ground, sources told the Atlantic. Hegseth was one of the main proponents of the early theory that the Iran war would only last four to six weeks.
But as the war approaches its ninth month, Trump has been reconsidering the effectiveness of Hegseth’s military leadership. In a gesture of good will, Hegseth has purged nearly two dozen top generals in the military for a range of petty offenses that displease the president; most recently, Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, for his alleged leaks to the press.
Hegseth has previously faced calls for impeachment from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis have each publicly called for his removal since September.
