President Trump on Monday defended Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth amid new reporting a few Sign app chat and criticism from former Pentagon officers.
“He is doing a great job. … Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump informed reporters on the south garden of the White Home through the annual Easter Egg Roll.
Trump touted sturdy army recruitment numbers underneath Hegseth and waved off the newest controversies.
“It’s just fake news,” Trump stated. “They only carry up tales. I assume it appears like disgruntled staff. You recognize, he was put there to eliminate quite a lot of dangerous folks.”
The New York Instances reported Sunday that Hegseth shared delicate details about deliberate strikes in Yemen in a non-public chat on the Sign app that included his spouse, his brother and his private lawyer.
Information of the second chat got here roughly a month after the editor in chief of The Atlantic detailed how he was mistakenly added to a gaggle chat of administration officers discussing plans for army strikes on the Houthis. Whereas nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz took duty for that chat, Hegseth shared particulars about deliberate strikes within the dialogue.
Administration officers have insisted there was no categorised data shared in both chat.
Additionally on Sunday, Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot, who lately left the division, penned an opinion piece for Politico wherein he wrote, “the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership.” There was a wave of exits of prime officers in current days amid a probe for leaks.
Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox Information host, was defiant in remarks to reporters earlier Monday.
“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” Hegseth said. “Not going to work with me.”
