Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz reiterated the administration’s support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying they “couldn’t be prouder” of his early months in the role, despite a wave of high-profile controversies and resignations that have embroiled the department in recent weeks.
Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Waltz was pressed about the alleged dysfunction inside the Pentagon’s top ranks— and whether, in his view, the current Pentagon is equipped to deliver on lofty foreign policy goals, including helping broker a negotiated settlement in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?” Bartiromo asked Waltz on “Sunday Morning Futures,” citing reports of chaos and dysfunction, including recent firings of Hegseth’s top aides, and reports he has been threatening polygraph tests for some staffers at the department.
“I’ll tell you about a weakened Pentagon,” Waltz fired back. “That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it.”
In contrast to his predecessor, Waltz said Hegseth is “leading from the front” at the Defense Department, and praised what he described as Hegseth’s early efforts to reform the Pentagon.
“He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking,” Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a “media narrative,” and one he vowed they “are going to power through.”
Waltz also brushed off a question about the departures of senior aides, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, last week.
The exodus of senior officials and other allegations of chaos from inside the Pentagon have prompted some Democrats to call for an investigation into his leadership.
But Waltz also brushed off these characterizations of dysfunction on Sunday. Asked by Bartiromo how he was going to replace the fired Pentagon officials, Waltz said in response: “Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon.”
“There is a record number of generals,” he said. “And the other piece— there is accountability. We have had several general officers that weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced… That’s what the Pentagon needs.”
Waltz argued that that is a stark contrast to the longtime culture at the Pentagon, where he said “no one ever gets fired, [and] there’s never a sense of accountability.”
“And now there is,” he told Bartiromo.
“Whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge,” Waltz said. “And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.”
HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT
Waltz’s remarks come as Hegseth’s role has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks — both for his participation in at least one Signal group chat in March where he discussed a planned military strike against the Houthis, and the firing of several senior staffers earlier this month.
Hegseth earlier this month fired three top aides: including his aide, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll.
These oustings were described as both “baffling” and alarming by John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official who resigned earlier this year.
“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico.
The White House, however, has sought to emphasize its support for Hegseth in recent days, with both Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently dismissing reports that the administration could be considering a possible replacement.
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“Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week, describing the reports as a “smear campaign.”
