As conflicts over trade and also Defense Department procedures bring the bickering of the government’s first name back to life, divisions have begun to form within the Trump administration.
The White House was praised in the first few weeks of President Donald Trump’s subsequent expression for chief of staff Susie Wiles’s control over bickering, leaking, and panic that plagued the second management. However, as a result of Trump’s decision to impose higher taxes on most of the world’s business associates, pause those taxes, and engage China in a trade war, advisers have begun to criticize one another in private and public circles.
After the Atlantic’s leading director was given access to a Signal group chat detailing U.S. airstrikes against Oman and the New York Times ‘ revelation that Hegseth shared the delicate plans with his wife, brother, and specific lawyer in a subsequent Signal group chat, some Pentagon employees lost their jobs.
The ongoing bickering is presently threatening Trump’s 100-day dominance reputation.
” It was inevitable that the small, organized procedure that was the campaign would become less strong, less disciplined as the administration formed and the circle enlarged to contain hundreds, if not thousands, of appointees and staff, many of whom are democratic actors in their own right”, Democratic strategist Dennis Lennox said.
A chaotic Pentagon propels itself forward.
His former employees are not retaliating against the department under his leadership because Hegseth continues to be determined to keep hold of his job.
Most notably, John Ullyot, a former chief Pentagon spokesman, wrote for Politico that there is” total chaos at the Pentagon” and urged Trump to fire Hegseth.
Ullyot refuted claims that several Pentagon officials who had been forced out or given paid leave were leaked sensitive information to the media. Hegseth’s former chief of staff, Joe Kasper, also left the Pentagon following Signalgate.
” 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”, he wrote after mentioning Dan Caldwell, a former senior adviser, Darin Selnick, former deputy chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg.
Caldwell, Carroll, and Selnick wrote in a joint statement that they were “incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended.”
In a rebuttal to their former employer, they continued,” Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out of the door.”
The comments paint a picture of a Pentagon in turmoil despite being unique for a department that prioritizes decorum and avoids partisanship.
” It’s total dysfunction and amateur hour”, Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University, said about the Pentagon in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
According to Angie Wong, a committeewoman for the Miami Republican party,” a lot of the fall guys” were Hegseth’s own employees, which has bolstered Democratic demands for his resignation.
Backstabbing also impacted Trump’s desire to “have a nice, clean, 100 days, where he pushes his agenda,” Wong said.
White House stands behind Hegseth
Hegseth has been defended by the Trump White House despite mounting demands for his resignation.
Hegseth made an effort to minimize the severity of his actions this week during an interview at his former employer.
” What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations for media coordination]and ] other things”, Hegseth told , Fox &, Friends , host , Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday morning. That’s what I’ve said right away.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, quickly denounced the report after NPR reported that the administration was looking for a new defense secretary.
The story is” total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about”, Leavitt wrote Monday on X. He stands strong behind him, as the President said this morning.
That same day, Leavitt also told reporters,” The president absolutely has confidence in Secretary Hegseth”.
Some GOP experts believe Hegseth will remain in his position given the support he has received.
” I do not anticipate Pete Hegseth being fired as Secretary of Defense over this ( and ) certainly not in the short term,” said Gregg Keller, a Republican consultant based in Missouri, who has spoken with some Trump insiders. ” Pete Hegseth may get thrown over at some point, but it won’t be in the aftermath of this”.
” First of all, Trump’s psychology is never accept blame or defeat, and by throwing over Hegseth, he would be doing that,” Keller continued. He would “give the Left, the Democrats, and the media a run for their money.” And I would be shocked to see him do that”.
Dallek also made mention of Trump’s dislike of “loyalists” in relation to the establishment Republicans in his first term.
However, the narrative about the White House has been dominated by questions about how long Hegseth will last, how Trump will defuse trade wars, and how long the president can use the executive branch to continue to sabotage Congress.
” I think most Republican senators knew that Hegseth wasn’t qualified”, Dallek said, referencing reports that the defense secretary had struggled with alcoholism before his promotion. He and some of the other appointments were clearly not ready for prime time, in my opinion. And so they might be more devoted to Trump, but they don’t necessarily possess the kind of professionalism, gravitas, or accomplishments that would give a sort of smooth-running, button-down operation.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE ) appeared to call for Hegseth’s ouster in an interview with Politico this week.
” I’m not in the White House, and I’m not going to tell the White House how to handle this,” Bacon said.” I find it unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it if I were in charge.”
Disagreement is displayed.
Trump’s fascination with using tariffs as a means to negotiate with the nation’s trade partners has not largely panned out, despite the president’s veneer of confidence.
When asked about the tariffs, Trump responded to reporters on Wednesday morning,” We have a lot of action going on.” We are very wealthy in this nation. This country is not going to be losing money on trade anymore. We are losing$ 2 trillion a year in trade. We’re going to be making a lot of money right now. So that’s very good”.
However, Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool has been content, as some of his top officials have spoken out in public about their disagreements as the situation progressed and the financial turbulence increased.
The president’s chief trade adviser, Peter Navarro, was stung by DOGE adviser Elon Musk after repeatedly downplaying any trade agreements as the Liberation Day tariffs spooked the world markets, even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed trade deals were still being worked out.
Musk notably slammed Navarro calling him” a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks” on social media.
Leavitt, however, claimed that the conflict did not occur within the White House.
These are undoubtedly two people who have very different viewpoints on trade and tariffs, she said during a press conference. ” Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue”.
Axios reported that Musk and Bessent got into a shouting match last week in the White House over the IRS, and they have also reportedly had issues. Bessent, who reportedly felt Musk had gotten him hired, was previously reported as having disagreements regarding Gary Shapley’s appointment as the IRS interim head.
Bessent, who oversees the agency, complained to Trump about the appointment, according to the New York Times, with the president shortly thereafter replacing Shapley with Michael Faulkender, Bessent’s deputy.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a question about the disagreement between Bessent and Musk, saying,” It’s no secret President Trump has assembled a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country.
Trump has since rebuffed his bitter accusations against Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, which had begun to sputter on the stock market.
” I have no intention of firing him”, Trump said Tuesday, backtracking on previous comments. In terms of his plan to lower interest rates, I would like to see him be a little more active. The ideal moment to lower interest rates is now.
Trump’s tariff woes are not the only problems he has on the financial front. Republicans on Capitol Hill have been spooked by his attempts to trim the budget, who have even gone so far as to halt town hall meetings with constituents.
” It’s not surprising that we’re starting to see cracks even before Liberation Day,” Dallek continued. ” If we look at what Elon Musk has done with DOGE, that’s not a well-run, highly functional machine”.
Musk, the tech billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, made it known on Tuesday that, starting in May, he will spend” significantly” less time on DOGE as a result of the financial decline in Tesla earnings.
HEGSETH PRAISES THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PENTAGON CONTINUE AS TENSIONS.
Before that, Trump told Cabinet members that Musk would step back amid tensions that Musk’s DOGE, which has trimmed the federal workforce and shuttered agencies, was causing concerns for the administration and Republican lawmakers across the nation.
He “had his honeymoon period, and it kind of vanished really quickly,” Wong said of Trump’s leadership. The more and more Republicans I’m speaking to these days are having buyer’s remorse, they said.
