Even a Republican Congressman Is Turning on Pete Hegseth After Signalgate 2.0

Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary, is on the ropes. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that Hegseth had been involved in yet another texting scandal involving the encrypted chat app Signal. Then, on Monday, NPR reported that the administration was looking to replace Hegseth. However, not long after the public broadcaster’s story was published, the White House denied and denounced the report.

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NPR writes that an anonymous source, described only as a U.S. official, had said that the White House had “begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense.”

“This ⁦@NPR⁩ story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about,” tweeted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind ⁦@SecDef.”

The administration’s other account on X, Rapid Response 47, also tweeted about the story: “WRONG. Fake News!”

While the administration is sticking by Hegseth’s side (at least in public), there are other unfavorable signs for the embattled defense secretary. Republican lawmaker Don Bacon, of Nebraska, broke ranks on Monday and became the first GOP legislator to suggest that Hegseth might need to be fired, Politico reports. Bacon, who chairs a cyber subcommittee on the House Armed Services Committee, said that he had always thought Hegseth was a little green for the job: “I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon told the outlet. “I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.”

“If it’s true that he had another [Signal] chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable,” Bacon said.

Hegseth’s reputation was severely damaged by a scandal last month in which he accidentally texted war plans involving a bombing campaign in Yemen to the head editor of The Atlantic. Hegseth used the encrypted app Signal to share the operational details. On Sunday, the Times reported that Hegseth had been involved in yet another Signal text chain. This time, Hegseth had reportedly shared detailed Yemen war plans with his brother, wife, and personal lawyer. Gizmodo reached out to the White House for comment.

Bacon went on: “I’m not going to tell the White House how to manage this … but I find it unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it if I was in charge.” He added that it “looks like there’s a meltdown going on” inside the government. “There’s a lot — a lot — of smoke come out of the Pentagon, and I got to believe there’s some fire there somewhere.”