President Donald Trump said on Monday that he stood behind US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, after reports that he shared details of a March attack on Yemen’s Houthis in a message group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
“Pete’s doing a great job. Everybody’s happy with him,” Trump said. Asked if he remained confident in Hegseth, Trump said: “Oh.”
“Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump said. The US military, under Trump, has ramped up its bombing campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi group.
In the second chat, Hegseth shared details of the attack similar to those revealed last month by The Atlantic magazine after its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was included in a separate chat on the Signal app by mistake.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt denied a National Public Radio report that the Trump administration had begun searching for a new defence secretary.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Hegseth slammed the media and former employees.
“I have spoken to the president, and we are going to continue fighting on the same page all the way,” Hegseth said.
