Resisting him

White House backs Hegseth, Leavitt says ‘entire Pentagon’ is resisting him

Hegseth “is doing phenomenal leading the Pentagon,” Leavitt said during a Monday “Fox & Friends” appearance.

From Politico

President Donald Trump “stands strongly behind Pete Hegseth,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning, telling Fox News that the mounting criticism of the scandal-plagued Defense secretary is “what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you.”

Hegseth “is doing phenomenal leading the Pentagon,” Leavitt said during a Monday “Fox & Friends” appearance. “This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change you are trying to implement.”

The New York Times reported Sunday that Hegseth shared sensitive information about military action in Yemen in a private chat on the Signal app that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer — the second reported instance of the secretary sharing operational plans in an unclassified chat.

The Pentagon’s former top spokesperson — who stepped down last week — also recently bashed the Pentagon leader for plunging the department into chaos.

Leavitt’s defense of the Pentagon chief followed a New York Times report Sunday that Hegseth shared sensitive information about military action in Yemen in a private chat in the Signal app that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. It’s the second time Hegseth has been accused of sharing sensitive defense details on the encrypted messaging platform, reigniting the so-called Signalgate scandal that rattled the White House last month.

John Ullyot, the Pentagon’s former top spokesperson who stepped down last week, also bashed the Pentagon leader for allegedly plunging the department into dysfunction in a POLITICO Magazine opinion piece published Sunday. Ullyot — once a vocal supporter of the Defense secretary — alleged that Hegseth’s team spread unverified claims about three top officials who were fired last week, falsely accusing them of leaking sensitive information to media outlets.

“President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer,” Ullyot wrote.