Top Pentagon aide John Ullyot goaded President Donald Trump to remove Sec. Pete Hegseth from his Cabinet, describing "total chaos" and "dysfunction" within the top brass of the military (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
On Friday, the Pentagon fired three Hegseth aides – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – three of the secretary’s "most loyal" advisers, according to Ullyot. He called the purge "strange" and "baffling."
Following them out the door is chief of staff Joe Kasper, who the three men frequently found themselves at odds with, three defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital.
"In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership."
He called himself a "strong backer" of Hegseth, but admitted: "The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon – and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration."
The shake-ups came just as reports broke about a second Signal chat where Hegseth discussed plans to strike Houthis in Yemen, this one allegedly including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.
That chat reportedly discussed flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen – similar information to that shared in the chat of Trump Cabinet members where national security advisor Mike Waltz unintentionally added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
"Another day, another old story," Parnell said in a statement after the latest Signal chat reporting. "There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story."
PENTAGON'S WEEK OF POWER STRUGGLES: LEAK FALLOUT AND SHOUTING MATCHES HIT HEGSETH'S INNER CIRCLE
Hegseth brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on "disgruntled employees" and "anonymous smears." (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Hegseth also brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on "disgruntled employees" and "anonymous smears."
"This is why we’re fighting the fake news media," he said when pressed on the chat by reporters at the White House Easter Egg roll. "This group right here is full of hoaxsters."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-pentagon-aide-urges-trump-fire-hegseth-citing-full-blown-meltdown-total-chaos