Who is Pete Hegseth? What to know about Defense Secretary amid text leak of war plans
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is under fire after a magazine editor was added to a group chat where top Trump administration officials were discussing military plans.
The Atlantic's editor Jeffrey Goldberg reported Monday that he was added to a chat titled "Houthi PC small group" on the encrypted messaging app Signal earlier this month. Throughout that week, people with user names corresponding to top Trump officials like Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, discussed the positives and negatives of going after Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, Goldberg wrote. He said hours before the U.S. launched a wave of strikes targeting the Houthis, Hegseth sent details about the strikes.
The White House confirmed the contents of the chat appear to be authentic.
Hegseth denied that he was texting about war plans, criticized Goldberg as "deceitful," and declined to comment further on the leak while talking to reporters Monday in Hawaii.
But this is not the first time Hegseth has faced controversy. Here is what to know about him.
Who is Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense?
President Donald Trump raised eyebrows when he named Hegseth, as his Defense secretary pick, as he broke the tradition of filling the position with Pentagon chiefs with long resumes in government.
The Secretary of Defense oversees the largest government agency and acts as the head military policymaker and advisor.
Hegseth, 44, worked with Fox News from 2014 until he left following the news of his nomination. Hegseth joined the Army ROTC in college and was deployed overseas with the Army National Guard after graduating, according to a 2022 article in Reserve + National Guard Magazine. According to his Defense bio, his deployments included Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan and he has also held staff positions in the National Guard.
He has received two Bronze Star Medals, the Joint Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB), according to his government profile.
Throughout his nomination, Hegseth faced prior allegations of sexual assault, public drinking and abusive treatment towards women. Three Republicans voted against him, but he still gained enough support to be confirmed.
Since taking up his position, Hegseth has followed in Trump's wake by targeting diversity, equity and inclusion in the military.
What did Pete Hegseth text about Yemen plans?
According to Goldberg's report, here is what Hegseth contributed to the chat:
After an account named "JD Vance" raised concerns over the imminent plans in Yemen, an account labeled "Pete Hegseth" said:
“VP: I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.”
Hegseth went on to say:
“Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both. We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC. I welcome other thoughts.”
Vance replied he hated "bailing Europe out again."
“VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”
On the morning of the airstrikes, Goldberg said Hegseth posted an update in the chat with operational details that he refrained from quoting due to security reasons.
As incident echoes Hillary Clinton's emails, Hegseth's remarks resurface
Former Democratic presidential opponent Hillary Clinton reacted to the leak with "You have got to be kidding me," in a post on X. Her use of a private email server for business as Secretary of State became a central Republican attack point in her campaign. Trump had called for her imprisonment over it.
Hegseth himself joined in this line of attack, along with several other members on the leaked Signal chat, CNN reported.
“People have gone to jail for 1/100th of what – even 1/1,000th of what Hillary Clinton did," he said in a Fox News appearance in 2016, according to the archived video.
This story was updated with new information.
Contributed: Paste BN's Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Josh Meyer, Tom Vanden Brook; Reuters
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.