Time to go!

Pete Hegseth has once again proven himself unfit for the job of Secretary of Defense and now it looks like he is about to spend more time with his families

Another group chat and another embarrassment

Easter Sunday included the breaking news from the New York Times that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had shared classified strike plans about Yemen in a separate Signal group that included his wife, brother, personal attorney and around ten others. This group was created himself and included the same information he sent to the previously reported one established by National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz.

It’s much worse this time because it’s confirmed that this group chat, and sharing of classified information, was on his personal phone and not a government device. I’ve been saying since this story broke that there was no way this all happened on a government phone or classified device.

It didn’t and he was warned not to do it.

The journalists confirmed that his own aides warned him not to use that Signal group for classified information or sensitive topics as his wife and others were not cleared or in any way on a need to know basis. He ignored them because he is an arrogant fool.

The vultures are circling

At the same time former spokesman John Ullyot issued a scathing OpEd in Politico attacking Hegseth for his repeated failures as SecDef and what he called the “Month from Hell” that started with the first Signalgate, followed by reports of bringing his wife to classified meetings, then the insane plan to give Elon Musk a Top Secret briefing on China plans, and finally the firings and reputation smears of four separate aides from his office.

All of the men he fired were long time colleagues from his past work at Concerned Veterans of America and elsewhere. From Ullyot:

On Friday, Hegseth fired three of his most loyal senior staffers — senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of Defense. In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month.

Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.

There is a rule in life and especially politics. Don’t smear the people who know your secrets. It appears that in his massive arrogance, Pete Hegseth has forgotten that basic rule and now he is paying the price. It looks like it’s heading where it should.

Republicans are having enough of it too. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska who is a former general officer in the Air Force and sits on the House Armed Services Committee is saying that Hegseth should go. Everything happening is exactly what he was worried about when they nominated someone with so little management experience.

“Russia and China put up thousands of people to monitor all these phone calls at the very top, and the No. 1 target besides the president … would be the secretary of Defense,” said Bacon. “Russia and China are all over his phone, and for him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right. He’s acting like he’s above the law — and that shows an amateur person.”

Truly and amateur person. The fact that he had to hire a guy to be his personal fluffer on social media tells you so much as well.

Dead man walking

All of this points to the inevitable Washington D.C. death march. This morning Hegseth showed up at the White House Easter Egg Roll (Sponsored by PALANTIR!…or someone) and had this to say when asked about the situation.

Just listen to his voice.

My favorite part is what a friend pointed out…even the kids in back ain’t buying it.

While Trump and Karoline Leavitt have insisted that he is in good standing the truth is far different. NPR’s Tom Bowman is reporting that they have begun a search to replace him now.

“The White House has begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.”

It is inevitable. There is one thing that Trump can’t stand and that’s being embarrassed repeatedly. He doesn’t want to talk about Signal again and here we are with it being thrust into the spotlight. Hegseth has been one mistake after another and it is never going to end.

He’s way above his head and no matter how many pictures he posts of himself doing pushups it will never make him a competent Secretary of Defense.

I give him until Friday before announcing that he has successfully turned the Pentagon around and will be stepping down to spend more time with his families and maybe his next one too.

Let’s hope his propaganda corps goes with him.

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