{"id":10751,"date":"2025-04-22T10:21:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T02:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10751"},"modified":"2025-04-24T09:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T01:22:57","slug":"republicans-get-new-case-of-heartburn-over-hegseth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10751","title":{"rendered":"Republicans get new case of heartburn over Hegseth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"315\" height=\"175\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250422101857.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250422101857.jpg 315w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250422101857-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 315px) 100vw, 315px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Republicans are experiencing a new case of heartburn over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a spate of Pentagon staff firings in recent weeks and the emergence of a second Signal chat reportedly detailing attack plans in a month\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth once again found himself squarely in the spotlight over the past week after a trio of top aides were fired from the Defense Department amid a leak investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gasoline was added to the fire on Sunday as John Ullyot, an ex-Defense Department spokesperson, wrote in an op-ed that the Pentagon is in \u201cdisarray under Hegseth\u2019s leadership\u201d and The New York Times reported that Hegseth started and shared attack plans against the Houthis in a second Signal chat, this one including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The avalanche of news has done little to instill confidence with some Senate GOP lawmakers, who narrowly confirmed him in January. Now, some members worry the string of news will zap him of any remaining goodwill in the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cConfidence in him will be lost,\u201d one Senate Republican told The Hill, specifically mentioning the ousted staffers and the Signal revelation as the driving forces. \u201cThis is like one thing after the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The senator said those concerns are spreading as negative news continues to trickle out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere may be a little bit of buyer\u2019s remorse,\u201d the member continued, adding that some in the conference are starting to \u201cscratch their heads\u201d at Hegseth\u2019s actions of late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A second Senate Republican said that while many members are in \u201cwait-and-see mode\u201d on the Defense secretary, they are sure the string of negative news is not at its end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt won\u2019t stop,\u201d the second Senate GOP member said. \u201cWe all know that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the House, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a member of the Armed Services Committee and a former brigadier general in the Air Force who specialized in intelligence, called the Signal chat \u201ctotally unacceptable,\u201d adding, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t tolerate it if I was in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn\u2019t have a lot of experience. \u2026 I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That\u2019s a concern,\u201d he said in remarks first reported by Politico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Defense secretary lashed out at criticisms Monday, particularly about The New York Times\u2019s revelation of the second Signal chat. He laid blame at the feet of the media, but he did not issue an outright denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,\u201d Hegseth said from the White House Easter Egg Roll about the Times\u2019s report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cNot going to work with me, because we\u2019re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of warfighters. And anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest Times report comes about a month after the first installment of \u201cSignalgate,\u201d when The Atlantic reported Hegseth and other top administration officials used Signal to discuss detailed plans for an attack on the Houthis in Yemen. That bombshell report emerged after The Atlantic\u2019s editor in chief was mistakenly added to the group. Hegseth remains under investigation by the Pentagon\u2019s inspector general over whether he shared classified information in the chat \u2014 an investigation requested by the top Republican and top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The New York Times reported Hegseth shared similar information in the second chat. While Signal is an encrypted app, it is not considered as secure as more traditional forms of government communication, and security experts have expressed concerns about using it to transmit sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest round of headlines also come roughly three months after Hegseth squeaked across the finish line in the upper chamber in what was the closest call for any of President Trump\u2019s choices for his Cabinet. Vice President Vance had to break a tie after three Republican senators voted against his confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his confirmation process, he faced myriad questions that imperiled his chances, headlined by reports of excessive drinking, an allegation of sexual assault and accusations he had mismanaged two veterans organizations he led. Hegseth denied all the allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While most of those questions have remained dormant since his confirmation, those about his ability to shepherd the Defense Department, which has 2.1 million service members and a budget of $850 billion, have persisted with the ouster of key staffers, some of whom were long-time allies of the secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIs this repeating and validating the allegations that were made about him in terms of a toxic work environment?\u201d the first Senate GOP member said. \u201cHe\u2019s turning over people that have dedicated their careers to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those queries were only heightened by Ullyot\u2019s op-ed, which described the past month at the department as \u201ctotal chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[E]ven strong backers of the secretary like me must admit: The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon \u2014 and it\u2019s becoming a real problem for the administration,\u201d Ullyot wrote. \u201cIn the first three months of his second term, Trump has continued that great record on national security, in particular refocusing the Defense Department on its core mission of preparing to fight and win wars. Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the string of negative news, Republicans don\u2019t expect an imminent change in leadership at the Pentagon. One Senate GOP aide pointed to the intense effort to get him the requisite 51 votes only months ago as part of the reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere was so much capital invested to get the guy confirmed. You can\u2019t just throw him out after [three] months,\u201d the aide said, conceding that the current situation is \u201ccertainly a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI actually think the nature of the confirmation almost helps him with job security right now. People are going to be even more embarrassed if we fought this confirmation battle for a three-month secretary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Hegseth continues to have the backing of the president, who panned questions about his future atop the Pentagon as a \u201cwaste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAsk the Houthis how much dysfunction there is. There\u2019s none. Pete\u2019s doing a great job,\u201d Trump said from the Easter Egg Roll. \u201cEverybody\u2019s happy with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Republicans are experiencing a new case of heartburn over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a spate of Pentagon staff firings in recent weeks and the emergence of a second Signal chat reportedly detailing attack plans in a month\u2019s time. Hegseth once again found himself squarely in the spotlight over the past week after a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":10752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3267,1733,1853],"class_list":["post-10751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-get","tag-new","tag-republicans"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Republicans get new case of heartburn over Hegseth - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10751\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republicans get new case of heartburn over Hegseth - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senate Republicans are experiencing a new case of heartburn over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a spate of Pentagon staff firings in recent weeks and the emergence of a second Signal chat reportedly detailing attack plans in a month\u2019s time. 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