“Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” President Trump quipped this Easter Monday, defending his embattled Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. But behind the bravado and bunny suits on the White House lawn, top officials are privately doing just that — asking if Hegseth’s tenure, marred by leaks, insubordination, and now a national security scandal, is becoming untenable.
According to a senior US official not authorised to speak on the record, the White House has quietly begun the search for a replacement. The catalyst? A second revelation that Hegseth shared sensitive, minute-by-minute details of airstrikes in Yemen — not just with aides, but in a private Signal group that included his wife, brother, and lawyer.
If the first leak was a lapse, the second looks like a pattern. And patterns — especially those that risk lives — are rarely tolerated long in Washington, even in a Trump-led administration where loyalty often trumps protocol.
The SignalGate Scandal
The SignalGate saga began with a bombshell: Hegseth had inadvertently looped a journalist into a private Signal chat with top White House officials just hours before a coordinated airstrike on Houthi targets. That alone triggered alarm bells across the Pentagon, as adversaries like Iran and the Houthis have demonstrated a growing capability to intercept communications and retaliate — already having shot down two American drones this year.
Now, the existence of a second, even more cavalier chat thread — this time with family — has sparked internal panic. According to officials, the chats included real-time strike updates, precise targeting information, and assessments before missions had even launched.
“This isn’t just bad judgement. It’s operational malpractice,” said Rep. Jim Himes, a senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Trump’s Dilemma: Loyalty vs Liability
Publicly, Trump has stood by Hegseth — calling him a “great patriot” and dismissing the uproar as “media hysteria.” But behind closed doors, aides are reportedly weighing how long the president can afford to defend a man increasingly viewed as a national security risk.
For Trump, the decision is politically fraught. Hegseth is a loyalist, a fellow Fox News alumnus, and a face of the Trump-era military ethos: brash, anti-bureaucratic, and deeply ideological. But even in Trumpworld, loyalty has limits — especially when headlines shift from “tough on terror” to “reckless with secrets.”
One former official described the West Wing mood as “tense and tired” — a recognition that keeping Hegseth may be more costly than letting him go.
Pentagon in Disarray
Adding to the drama is the exodus of senior staff. Four top Pentagon advisers either resigned or were forcibly removed in the past week. Former spokesperson John Ullyot, once a Hegseth ally, now paints a dire picture of dysfunction, calling it a “full-blown meltdown.”
The purge has fueled speculation that Hegseth is not just leaking — he’s losing control.
Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, two of the aides escorted out, were close allies of Hegseth from his Concerned Veterans for America days. In a defiant joint statement, they accused the Pentagon of political scapegoating, saying they still hadn’t been told what they supposedly leaked.
“All three of us served honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan,” they wrote. “We know what operational security means.”
Their defence — and their sudden dismissal — adds another layer of intrigue. Is Hegseth cleaning house to protect himself? Or is the house simply collapsing?
An Unforced Error
To many defence experts, Hegseth’s appointment was always a gamble. A former weekend TV host and Iraq War veteran with no prior experience managing large institutions, he was an odd choice to run the Pentagon — a behemoth of 3 million personnel and a $900 billion budget.
That oddity is now a liability.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, bluntly called for accountability — not just from Hegseth, but from Trump.
“This is what happens when a complex, consequential job is given to someone with a resume built on primetime rants and MAGA bromides,” she said.
The Endgame
Whether Hegseth survives this scandal may ultimately depend less on the Pentagon than on politics. Trump, facing rising global tensions and seeking re-election, may decide that the symbolism of strength matters more than the substance of discipline.
But make no mistake — the knives are out.
And if history is any guide, Trump doesn’t fire his loyalists until the threat becomes existential. Hegseth may still have a few weeks of borrowed time. But in Washington, as with warfare, leaks have a way of sinking even the most loyal ships.
