Trump’s Pentagon Chief Under Fire as Scandals Mount

Hegseth, the former Army National Guard major who went from Fox News co-host to leader of the world’s most powerful military, is no stranger to controversy and was narrowly confirmed by the Senate earlier this year.

Attacks on alleged drug smugglers – particularly one in which survivors of the initial attack were later killed – and his use of commercial messaging app Signal to talk about an upcoming operation in Yemen have further fueled opposition against Hegseth.

“He’s in another difficult situation. In fact, his two big problems have now merged,” said Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and senior advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“But he seems to maintain (US President Donald)’s trust despite losing the support of some Republicans. So I don’t think he’s in (a) terminal situation,” Cancian said.

Jim Townsend, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy during the Obama administration, said Hegseth was “on thin ice” and that Trump had “a secretary of defense who gave him a lot of headaches.”

Townsend acknowledged that Hegseth was unlikely to be fired immediately, but said if something “really angered the Republican Party” or embarrassed Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, “they would probably try to send him somewhere else.”

Yemen strikes

Hegseth came under fire during the confirmation process for allegations of financial mismanagement at veterans nonprofits where he previously worked, reports of his excessive drinking, and allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in California.

His tenure as defense minister was marred by scandals, including scandals surrounding attacks on Yemen in mid-March.

The Atlantic magazine revealed that its editor-in-chief was mistakenly included in a Signal chat in which officials, including Hegseth, were discussing the upcoming operation.

The Pentagon chief sent messages with information about the timing of the attacks and the aircraft and missiles involved hours before they occurred.

The incident sparked an investigation by the Pentagon’s independent inspector general, which concluded in a report released Thursday that Hegseth’s actions could have caused “potential harm to U.S. pilots.”

Targeting drug boats

Another controversy arose from the attack on a boat allegedly involved in drug smuggling in the Pacific on September 2. There were only a few survivors left in the first attack, but these two died in the subsequent attack.

Hegseth and the White House have repeatedly said the decision for the second strike was made by the operations commander, Adm. Frank Bradley, rather than the secretary of defense.

Lawmakers attended a classified briefing on Capitol Hill this week in which they were shown extended video footage of the incident, only a brief portion of which has been made public, but there are conflicting views on whether the walkouts that followed were justified.

Democratic Rep. Jim Himes said the footage showed “the U.S. military attacking shipwrecked sailors — bad guys, bad guys — but not shipwrecked sailors.”

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, another briefing attendee, called all four attacks on the boat “perfectly legal and necessary” and said the survivors tried to “stay in the fight” by turning the drug-laden ship upside down.

Hegseth has faced calls from some Democratic lawmakers to resign or be fired over the ensuing strikes and the Signal controversy, but his job appears safe for now.

But Cancian said another scandal could push the Trump administration to remove him as defense secretary.

“If there’s another one after this one… the White House might lose patience,” he said, calling the current spat “very shameful.”