 "Will President Trump replace Defence Secretary Hegseth over Signal leak?")
The White House dismissed reports about seeking a replacement for US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as ‘fake news’, after a controversy emerged following his alleged mishandling of military information.
According to a report by National Public Radio, a US official revealed that the White House has begun searching for a new defence secretary after a second group chat leak emerged. Hegseth allegedly shared critical details about US military plans in the private Signal group chat. The chat reportedly included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
On Monday, the White House expressed its support for Hegseth amid the raging fallout. Neither Hegseth nor the White House denied that he had shared such information in a second chat. A post by the Trump administration’s X account ‘Rapid Response 47’ called the National Public Radio’s report ‘fake news’.
Hegseth had second Signal chat on Yemen strike
Hegseth created a second Signal messaging group that included his wife and brother, where he shared similar details about a March airstrike against Yemen’s Houthi militants that had been communicated in another chain with senior Trump administration officials. This second Signal chat group – using a commercially available app not authorised for sensitive or classified national defence communications – included 13 people, named ‘Defence Team Huddle’.
The Signal group included Hegseth’s wife Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser.
The White House responded Sunday night by dismissing the report as a ‘non-story’, stating that it stemmed from disgruntled former Pentagon employees spreading false information. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said, “No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can't change the fact that no classified information was shared. ‘Recently-fired leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.”
‘Sounds like disgruntled employees’: Trump
“It’s just fake news. They just bring up stories,” President Donald Trump said. “I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that’s what he’s doing. So you don’t always have friends when you do that.”
The administration maintained a firm stance in the face of Democratic calls for Hegseth’s dismissal, as the Pentagon faces ongoing upheaval, including the resignation of senior officials and an internal probe into leaks. Some officials now being labelled disgruntled were part of Hegseth’s original team when he assumed the role.
“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon resists you and the transformative changes you’re trying to make,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in comments shared by a Pentagon-affiliated social media account. Meanwhile, Hegseth said he had spoken to President Trump and they were “on the same page all the way.”
Signalgate: Journalist included in Yemen strike chat
This incident follows an earlier controversy in which Hegseth shared similar operational details -- such as timing and aircraft specific -- in a separate Signal group. That group, intended for senior national security officials, had been created by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
Waltz accepted responsibility for the mistake, clarifying that the group -- named ‘Houthi PC small group’ -- was meant for the Principals Committee, which handles sensitive national security coordination. The accidental inclusion of a journalist in the Signal chat group raised serious concerns throughout political circles.