Embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strikes defiant tone at Army War College

Source: USA Today

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struck a defiant, and, at times, profane tone on April 23 in an address to the Army War College amid mounting criticism of his use of a commercial messaging app to share sensitive information about air strikes with senior Trump administration officials, a journalist at The Atlantic and the secretary's wife Jennifer.

Hegseth avoided the latest revelation, reported by the New York Times and CNN, about sending his wife advance notice of the March 15 attack by U.S. Navy pilots on Houthi militants in Yemen. He also included his brother and personal lawyer, both Pentagon employees, in the Signal chat, a messaging platform the military does not consider secure for such communication. Hegseth's wife does not work for the Defense Department. The information, current and former government officials said, was almost certainly classified and would have put pilots at risk if it had been intercepted.

Hegseth denies that the information was sensitive, and President Donald Trump has offered support for his embattled Pentagon chief. Hegseth's use of Signal is under review by the Pentagon Inspector General.

Hegseth acknowledged Wednesday that his first months at the helm of the 3 million-member Department of Defense had been challenging. He said that Trump had warned him when he took the job, "'Pete, you’re going to have to be tough as shit.' Boy, he was not kidding on that one."

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