Hegseth's 'Back Against the Wall' as 'Paranoia' Takes Over

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Pete Hegseth is at the center of another security scandal: The Secretary of Defense was once again involved in a Signal group chat including non-cabinet members in which top-secret subjects were discussed.
He's now reportedly in "full paranoia" mode as more of his missteps make headlines.


Keep reading for the details…


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The New York Times reported on Sunday, April 20, that Pete Hegseth's wife, Jennifer Rauchet, his brother, Phil Hegseth, who is a senior adviser and Department of Homeland Security liaison at the Pentagon, and his attorney were all included in a Signal group chat in which sensitive matters were discussed.
It wasn't the first time people outside of Donald Trump's administration were included in a top-secret group chain, as Hegseth was previously in a headline-making group chat with a journalist from The Atlantic.
"No one's texting war plans," Hegseth told Fox & Friends on Tuesday, April 22. "What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations for media coordination among other things."

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During the White House Easter egg hunt on Monday, April 21, Donald Trump defended Pete Hegseth: "Pete is doing a great job. Ask the Houthis how he's doing," the president said, referencing recent U.S. military action in Yemen.
"He was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's what he's doing," Trump continued. "So you don't always have friends when that happens."

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According to CNN, the work dynamic at the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth has become dysfunctional, yet Donald Trump is reluctant to let go of any of his cabinet members this early in his presidency.

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Pete Hegseth's advisor — retired Army Sgt. Maj. Eric Geressy, who served with him and Iraq — and other colleagues have become so frustrated with Hegseth that they've considered resigning.
"It's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon. From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership," Hegseth's former spokesperson John Ullyot, who was fired, said in a statement.
Ullyot wasn't the only member of the former Fox News personality's team to get let go: Hegseth also fired top adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll.

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Republican Congressman Don Bacon urged Donald Trump's administration to do something about Pete Hegseth
"I would hold [him] accountable, and I'd fire [him]," Bacon told Jake Tapper on The Lead.
Bacon branded Hegseth's behavior as "very foolish."

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During his appearance on CNN, Don Bacon addressed Pete Hegseth's denial that his Signal group chats have been an issue: "He could recover from [the situation] with candor. But when you deny it's a problem, I think it even makes it worse," Bacon said.

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"He is in full paranoia, back-against-the-wall mode," an insider told CNN of Pete Hegseth in the wake of his latest scandal.