President Donald Trump called the story of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharing Houthi attack information on a second unauthorized Signal chat “fake news” during the White House Easter gathering.
The story, which first appeared in the New York Times, alleges that Secretary Hegseth shared information via Signal with both his wife and brother while using his personal phone to access the chat app.
The Signalgate 2.0 reporting comes after the recent firing of numerous high-ranking Pentagon officials (see below) and amidst allegations that the Defense Department is in “chaos” under Hegseth’s leadership.
The Pentagon is in “total chaos” and Pete Hegseth is unlikely to remain in his role, according to its former top spokesperson, who painted a scene of dysfunction, backstabbing and continuous missteps at the highest levels of the department.
“The building is in disarray under…
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 20, 2025
An op-ed by former DoD spokesperson John Ullyot contributed to speculation that Hegseth, a controversial choice for the leadership role, was under pressure to vacate the post.
Ullyot carefully couched his criticism in terms meant to appeal to Trump, saying the President deserved better that what Hegseth’s leadership has meant to the Pentagon. “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” he wrote.
But on Easter, Trump supported his embattled SecDef, claiming that military recruiting was soaring under Hegseth and suggested that doubters ask the Houthis, rather than the media, how he was doing — implying that the paramilitary group in Yemen would say the U.S. military was strong under Hegseth’s leadership.
Trump attributed the barrage of Hegseth criticism to the good job he’s doing. “He was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people and that’s what he’s doing” the President said. “So you don’t always have friends when you do that.”
.@POTUS on @SecDef: “He is doing a great job … Ask the Houthis how he’s doing.” pic.twitter.com/O0vp2sX69x
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 21, 2025
Hegseth is clearing house, as Trump indicated. But he is not, so far, saying much about why he is selecting those he targets for removal — leaving it unknown if these are Trump’s “bad people.”
Three high-ranking officials fired from the Defense Department in the last week put out a statement over the weekend via the account of one of them, former Pentagon senior advisor Dan Caldwell, saying they weren’t told why they were dismissed.
“Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door,” Caldwell wrote.
Joint statement from Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick:
We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door. All…
— Dan Caldwell
(@dandcaldwell) April 19, 2025