Defense Minister under pressure amid two rounds of controversy, demands for resignation grow stronger

 

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has come under fire for his alleged use of a messaging app to exchange classified military information and attack suspected drug-trafficking boats, prompting calls for his resignation from political circles.

Hegseth — a former Fox News anchor — is now the commander of one of the world’s most powerful militaries. Earlier this year, the Senate narrowly confirmed his appointment.

The US has reportedly carried out several attacks on suspected drug-trafficking boats off the coast of Venezuela. In one incident, survivors of the first attack were later shot dead. Hegseth is also known to have used the commercial messaging app Signal to share and discuss classified information before launching a military operation in Yemen.

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The two major scandals — the boat attack and the classified information sharing — together pose a significant political risk for Hegseth. Currently, reports and demands for his resignation have intensified in the media and political circles.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a retired U.S. Marine colonel, said Pete Hegseth now faces a more difficult situation. In his words, “two separate events have now come together in a way that has made the situation more complicated.”

However, according to Cancian, President Donald Trump still trusts Hegseth. “He has lost the support of some Republicans, but it is not yet clear that he is in a major crisis.”

Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence for European and NATO policy during the Obama administration, sees Hegseth’s position as even more precarious. In his words, Hegseth is now “standing on very thin ice”, and for Trump, he is a defence secretary who “often creates discomfort in the White House.”

However, Townsend also believes that Hegseth is unlikely to be fired immediately. “Unless something really embarrassing happens to the Republican Party, Trump won’t take direct action,” he said. “But if something like that happens—especially if it creates an uncomfortable situation for the MAGA movement—there might be an attempt to remove him from office.”

Yemen attack

Pete Hegseth has been embroiled in controversy since his confirmation as Secretary of Defense. He has long been embroiled in financial irregularities at his previous jobs — several nonprofit organizations for former military personnel — as well as allegations of excessive drinking by employees and sexual harassment of a woman in California.

New scandals have emerged since he took office. The most talked-about of these is the controversy surrounding an incident that occurred before the military operation in Yemen in March.

A report published by The Atlantic said that due to a mistake, the editor-in-chief of the magazine was added to a Signal group chat where Hegseth and several other high-ranking officials were discussing the Yemen attack. The report noted that Hegseth himself had messaged sensitive information, including his program, aircraft used, and missiles, hours before the operation began.

The Pentagon's independent Office of Inspector General launched an investigation into the leak. The investigation, released last Thursday, concluded that Hegseth's actions "could have put US pilots at potential risk."

Attack on boat suspected of being a drug smuggler – new controversy

The second major incident occurred on September 2, when a suspected drug boat was attacked in the Pacific Ocean. The first attack saved the lives of the boat's passengers, but the second attack killed them.

Hegseth and the White House said the second attack was not ordered by the Secretary of Defense; it was the direct decision of the operational commander, Admiral Frank Bradley.

This week, members of Congress were shown extensive video of the attack in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Only brief footage has been released to the public, leading to differing interpretations of the incident.

Democratic Congressman Jim Hymes said the video showed "the United States military attacking the sailors of a sinking vessel."

Republican Senator Tom Cotton, on the other hand, called all four attacks "lawful and necessary." He claimed the survivors were trying to turn the drug boat over and were trying to fight back.

Hegseth is safe for now despite calls for resignation

Several Democratic lawmakers have called for Hegseth's resignation or dismissal in light of these incidents, but it is believed that no circumstances have arisen to remove him from his duties.

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