Pentagon and White House Struggle To Fill Senior Roles Under Pete Hegseth Amid Defense Secretary's Scandals

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been plagued by scandals and controversies almost since the minute he was nominated to lead the Department of Defense. Now, the Trump administration is struggling to fill key roles with qualified people willing to work for one of the highest-ranking Cabinet members.

Among the key positions the department is looking to fill is the defense secretary's chief of staff, a role that is normally considered prestigious and typically attracts multiple qualified candidates. However, at least three people have already turned down the roles, some with fears of working under Hegseth, according to a new report from NBC News.

The struggle to find a chief of staff, as well as other senior adviser positions, have also inspired Vice President JD Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to take an active role in recruiting, which has also been met with little success.

According to the NBC News report, Vance and Wiles have not had much luck identifying people who are either willing to work for Hegseth or who fit the role politically. Further, the White House has rejected some people Hegseth wants to hire, while Hegseth has rejected some of the White House's candidates.

The Pentagon denied the claims of possible infighting and struggles at finding replacements.

"Not a single one of these ridiculous Pentagon palace intrigue stories points to a single thing that's not getting done at the Pentagon because of the alleged 'chaos'," Arthur Schwartz, a Republican operative with close ties to the Trump administration, said in a statement. "This is the very definition of manufactured beltway drama that serves no purpose other than to keep reporters of questionable talent employed."

Interestingly, NBC News suggests that hiring is not the only step the White House has taken in regards to Hegseth. In fact, they have also started to manage him more closely. For instance, last month, White House officials directed Hegseth to cancel a trip to the Middle East after they learned he planned a stop in Israel, according to a current and a former official.

Instead, they put Hegseth on Air Force One to travel with President Donald Trump, who did not include Israel in his itinerary. Several weeks later, a different Cabinet official, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A person familiar with Hegseth's planning said Noem's trip reflected the White House's desire to have Netanyahu meet with a "trusted messenger."

Hegseth's recent grievances come at the tail end of other scandals. Back in April, some of the Defense Secretary's closest allies, Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick, were escorted out of the Pentagon in connection with an investigation into allegations of a leak of sensitive information.

A little less than a week later, The New York Times reported that he had shared sensitive information about an ongoing U.S. military operation in Yemen on a Signal chat that included his wife, his personal attorney and his brother, along with others close to him.