Fox News host Maria Bartiromo pressed National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Sunday about the state of the US Department of Defense under Secretary Pete Hegseth, describing it as 'chaotic, weakened' amid a spate of resignations and reports of leaked sensitive information.
During an appearance on Sunday Morning Futures, Bartiromo asked Waltz whether peace negotiations in Ukraine could be achieved with a defence department in disarray. 'Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?' she said, referencing the departure of five senior leaders and a power struggle within Hegseth's team.
Waltz defended the administration, claiming the focus had shifted from 'DEI and climate change nonsense' to 'lethality and winning'. He dismissed the notion of chaos as 'a media narrative that we are going to power through'. Bartiromo later questioned how Hegseth would rapidly replace the departed officials, to which Waltz responded that there are 20,000 people at the Pentagon and that 'admirals get fired and get replaced' when not performing.
The questioning comes amid reports that Hegseth shared information about military strikes in Yemen with cabinet officials in a Signal group chat that accidentally included The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Further leaks emerged that Hegseth also shared strike details with his wife, brother and personal lawyer. The Pentagon has reportedly set up a system for Hegseth to access Signal messages, bypassing security protocols, though a spokesperson denied current misuse.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen criticised Hegseth's leadership on CBS's Face the Nation, stating he was 'not qualified' and had 'created chaos'. She said he had shown he is 'not the kind of leader that we need at this time'. Hegseth, a former Fox & Friends host, was confirmed by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote for the first time in history for a defence secretary.
