Former top Defense Department aide warns of ‘meltdown’ under Hegseth’s leadership

A recently departed top Pentagon aide goaded President Donald Trump to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from his Cabinet, describing “total chaos” and “dysfunction” within the top brass of the military. 

“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership,” John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon, wrote in an op-ed for Politico published on Sunday. 

“Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Ullyot departed the Pentagon’s public affairs office last week because he did not want to be second-in-command to chief spokesperson Sean Parnell. 

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On Friday, the Pentagon fired three Hegseth aides – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – three of the secretary’s “most loyal” advisers, according to Ullyot. He called the purge “strange” and “baffling.”

Following them out the door is chief of staff Joe Kasper, who the three men frequently found themselves at odds with, three defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

“In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership.”

He called himself a “strong backer” of Hegseth, but admitted: “The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon – and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration.”

The shake-ups came just as reports broke about a second Signal chat where Hegseth discussed plans to strike Houthis in Yemen, this one allegedly including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

That chat reportedly discussed flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen – similar information to that shared in the chat of Trump Cabinet members where national security advisor Mike Waltz unintentionally added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. 

“Another day, another old story,” Parnell said in a statement after the latest Signal chat reporting. “There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.”

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“Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama,” Ullyot wrote. 

“The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.”

Trump allies eviscerated Ullyot on social media after the op-ed was published. 

“This guy is not America First,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. “I’ve been hearing for years that he works his ass off to subvert my father’s agenda. That ends today. He’s officially exiled from our movement.”

“If you’re echoing Democrat talking points, you no longer support President Trump or his administration. There’s no gray area here,” added Trump advisor Jason Miller. 

The White House, meanwhile, “stands strongly” behind Hegseth, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday. 

“The President stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,” she said. This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.”

Hegseth also brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on “disgruntled employees” and “anonymous smears.”

“This is why we’re fighting the fake news media,” he said when pressed on the chat by reporters at the White House Easter Egg roll. “This group right here is full of hoaxsters.”