White House official claims 'entire Pentagon' is plotting 'against' Trump defense secretary

21 April

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a press conference on April 1, 2025 (Andrew Leyden/Shutterstock.com)

On Sunday, April 21, the New York Times broke a story that is being described as "Signalgate 2.0."

According to four Times sources, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the messaging app Signal to discuss plans for a military operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen with his wife Jennifer Hegseth (a former Fox News producer), his brother Phil Hegseth, and attorney Tim Parlatore.

The Times reporting comes after The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he was wrongly invited to a Signal chat on the Yemen operation that also included Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and other Trump Administration officials.

Both "Signalgate 2.0" and the first "Signalgate" are fueling calls for Hegseth to resign. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is passionately defending Hegseth and claiming that the former Fox News host is the victim of a plot by political foes at the Pentagon.

During a Monday, April 22 appearance on Fox News' morning show "Fox & Friends," Leavitt declared, "The president stands strongly behind Pete Hegseth. This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and the monumental change you are trying to implement. Unfortunately, there have been people at that building who don't like the change the secretary is bringing, and they are leaking and lying to mainstream media. We have seen this game played before."

Leavitt is claiming that Hegseth never shared any classified information in the two Signal chats.

The White House press secretary told the "Fox & Friends" hosts, "The administration and president have taken a strong stance against anyone who leaks classified information that can put our troops and war fighters at risk, and he will rein in the leakers and continue to do so, I'm sure."

Watch the full "Fox & Friends" interview at this Daily Beast link (subscription required).

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