White House backs Hegseth, Leavitt says ‘entire Pentagon’ is resisting him

President Donald Trump “stands strongly behind Pete Hegseth,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning, defending the scandal-plagued Defense secretary against escalating criticism from Democrats and former senior officials.

Hegseth “is doing phenomenal leading the Pentagon,” Leavitt said in a “Fox & Friends” appearance.

“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change you are trying to implement.”

Her comments came a day after The New York Times reported that Hegseth shared sensitive information about military operations in Yemen in a private chat on the Signal app that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer — the second reported instance of the secretary sharing operational plans in an unclassified chat.

The revelations have reignited the so-called Signalgate scandal and deepened scrutiny over Hegseth’s judgment and leadership.

Former top Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot, who stepped down last week, also bashed the Pentagon leader for allegedly plunging the department into dysfunction in a POLITICO Magazine opinion piece published Sunday night.

Ullyot — once a vocal supporter of the Defense secretary — accused Hegseth’s team of spreading unverified claims about three top officials who were fired last week, falsely accusing them of leaking sensitive information to media outlets.

“President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account,’” Ullyot wrote.

“Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Hegseth brushed off the allegations Monday and blamed it on backlash for his efforts to reshape the Pentagon.

“Big surprise that a few leakers get fired, and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,” Hegseth said at the White House Easter egg roll.

“We’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of warfighters.

Slash and burn doesn’t work with me.”

Democrats already made Hegseth a foil in the Trump administration, but new revelations about the Pentagon’s disarray have sent them into overdrive.

The new report has unleashed a blue wave of calls for the Pentagon chief to resign or be fired.

The scandal offers the party a timely focal point as it searches for ways to rally its base, counter Trump and sharpen its critique of his administration.

In the wake of internal divisions and an identity crisis within their own party, Democrats are eager to reinvigorate their message and stoke anti-Trump sentiment.

“The Secretary of Defense clearly doesn’t understand the concept of operational security or he doesn’t care,” Sen.

Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a former Navy pilot, said in a post on social media.

“Carelessness puts our service members at risk.

If this is true, he has again proven himself unqualified for this job and should resign or be fired.

”Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a combat veteran and member of the Armed Services Committee, was even more direct, saying Hegseth’s tenure is endangering American troops.

“How many times does Pete Hegseth need to leak classified intelligence before Donald Trump and Republicans understand that he isn’t only a f*cking liar, he is a threat to our national security?” she said in a statement.

“Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops’ lives are endangered by his singular stupidity.”

The cascading criticism from congressional Democrats for Hegseth to go compounds a week of turmoil at the Pentagon.

A wave of firings of senior staff amid a leak investigation and open infighting among some of those aides has further undercut Hegseth just three months into the job.

That call was echoed across the Democratic spectrum — from centrist voices such as Senate Intelligence ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.) to left-leaning lawmakers such as former Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and her allies.

“We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

“But Trump is still too weak to fire him.”

The new criticism follows Times reporting that Hegseth disclosed the flight schedules of fighter jets preparing to strike Houthi targets in Yemen to a Signal chat group composed of his personal allies.

Unlike the Signal chat that accidentally included the editor of The Atlantic, this channel was reportedly of Hegseth’s creation.

“You can’t turn chicken shit into chicken salad,” Sen.

Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former Pentagon official, said in a social media post echoing Ullyot’s warnings.

“As Hegseth’s staffer is now telling the world, Hegseth has turned the Pentagon into a place of chaos.”