Will Trump fire Pete Hegseth soon? Ex-Pentagon spokesperson drops bombshell: ‘May not stay for too long’
Thanks to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Signal chat leak scandal, the Donald Trump administration was caught in a major whirlwind within a few months of coming to power at the White House. The scandal’s extent new no bounds as it stayed in the news cycle for weeks on end, and now a top spokesperson, who was once a supporter of Hegseth, is claiming that the Defense Secretary’s days in the Trump administration are now numbered.
Is Pete Hegseth going to be fired soon? (Getty Images via AFP)
Are Hegseth’s days as Defense Secretary nearly over?
In a Politico opinion piece, former Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot said that Hegseth could be replaced very soon looking at the aftermaths of the Signal chat leak fiasco. According to Ullyot, this incident had put the Trump administration on the backfoot for quite a few weeks, causing a number of “meltdowns”. In the opinion piece, Ullyot penned that Donald Trump may consider firing Pete Hegseth especially due to the public crises that began due to the Signal chat leak and its aftermaths.
Top former Pentagon spokesperson lays down opinion
In the opinion piece, former spokesperson Ullyot also mentioned that, “Donald Trump is known for demanding accountability from his top officials. Considering the light of recent events surrounding Pete Hegseth, it is difficult imagining him staying in the position for very long.”
However, interestingly, it is the very same Ullyot who had praised Pete Hegseth back in December, claiming that the Defense Secretary was “well qualified for the job”. According to the opinion piece, Ullyot suggested that there has been a “full-blown meltdown at the White House thanks to the Signal chat leak fiasco.”
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The former Pentagon spokesperson also admitted that the issue had become a real problem for the administration at one point. He also termed these recent troubles as the “Month from Hell” in his opinion piece, as per reports.
The Politico piece also mentioned that, “Hegseth shared details about the Yemen strike in a second Signal chat that included his wife and brother” that was brought to light by the New York Times’ report. In Ullyot’s words, “There are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming this week.”
What was the Signal chat leak all about?
The Signal chat leak, also known as Signalgate, occurred in March 2025 when U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a Signal group chat involving high-ranking Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The group was discussing classified operational details of planned U.S. airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, including specific weapon systems, launch times, and sensitive intelligence, such as the identity of an undercover CIA officer. The leak sparked scrutiny over the use of unsecured messaging apps for sensitive government communications, potential violations of records-preservation laws. While the White House downplayed the incident, it raised broader concerns about cybersecurity risks, including vulnerabilities in Signal exploited by foreign entities like Russian hackers.
