Hegseth's status

NPR - A U.S. official has informed NPR that the search for a new leader to replace Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is underway. The decision comes as Hegseth is again mired in controversy over sharing military operational details in a Signal group chat, on his private cellphone with his wife, brother and personal lawyer. Hegseth shared information in this chat about airstrikes on Houthi targets at the same time in March that he shared similar details in another Signal chat with top officials and a journalist who was mistakenly added.

The White House initially called the story about replacing Hegseth fake news. Publicly, President Trump stood firmly by him yesterday, NPR’s Quil Lawrence tells Up First. Military and veteran sources are outraged to know about the second Signal chat because they say it put lives at risk. Former Defense Department spokesperson John Ullyot resigned last week and published an opinion piece saying the past month at the Pentagon has been a full-blown meltdown of infighting that’s hurting Trump. Three other Pentagon advisers were escorted out of the Pentagon and accused of leaking information to the press.

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