Republicans are quietly growing uneasy with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid Pentagon shake-ups and a second leaked Signal chat, but fear of crossing President Donald Trump has kept most silent — for now.
“There’s growing concern about general professionalism,” an outside adviser to a GOP senator on the Senate Armed Services Committee said, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
“When you have these big staff changes, when you have reports about [Hegseth] bringing his spouse to highly sensitive meetings, the Signal stuff, a hair and makeup studio in the Pentagon, it distracts from the mission of the Pentagon, the Trump administration, and creates real concern about the ability to handle a crisis,” the person added.
As Trump defends Hegseth and brushes off the latest reports as inflated, many in the GOP have circled the wagons around him. Approving his nomination demanded a heavy investment from Republican leadership in the Senate, further discouraging open criticism.
Hegseth’s first scandal came last month when he shared sensitive attack plans on a Signal chat that unwittingly included a journalist. He came under renewed scrutiny this week over a second group chat in which he again shared military operations in a private thread with close family and legal counsel.
Senate Republicans stood by Hegseth during his confirmation process despite allegations of heavy drinking and sexual misconduct, satisfied with Hegseth’s denials and facing heavy pressure from the White House to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
But the latest episodes have created an air of crisis three months into his tenure at the Pentagon, leading to eroding confidence among his Republican allies and even close advisers. This week, Hegseth’s recently departed communications chief criticized his management in an op-ed as others were fired over fears that the agency was beset by leaks.
“All of these things are self-inflicted wounds and [Hegseth] doesn’t have his house in order, he hasn’t managed the communications well, and if there’s more incidents — over time, this is just going to wear on people,” the GOP adviser said.
Just one congressional Republican, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a former Air Force brigadier general from a district Trump lost in 2024, has openly called for Hegseth’s removal.
Most frustrated Republicans have held back from confronting the White House or speaking publicly, though some now suggest Hegseth may need stronger support amid mounting leadership controversies.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Armed Services panel, said he still has faith in Hegseth but stated the former Fox News anchor needs better advisers at the Department of Defense.
“He’s going to need some help around him. One of the things he has lacked in the early days is some real … institutional expertise in the building, and that’s part of why he’s there is to bust up the club a bit,” Cramer said in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday. “But I think the monster that is the Pentagon was perhaps a bigger monster than he even thought.”
Administration allies are closing ranks around Hegseth, with GOP senators like Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) offering a forceful defense of his leadership this week.
Michael Zona, a GOP strategist and former top aide to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), suggested that early disruptions were expected given Hegseth’s mandate to reform the Pentagon, and urged Republicans to reserve judgment.
“Hegseth was nominated, because he was an outsider, to overhaul the Pentagon. So some turbulence at the beginning of his tenure was to be expected,” Zona said. ”Republicans should let things play out for a bit before second-guessing every decision. When it comes to actual results (not staff drama or media leaks), he hasn’t missed a beat.”
One Senate aide to an Armed Services Committee Republican dismissed the controversies surrounding Hegseth as “palace intrigue.”
Some close to Trump and the White House are still publicly defending Hegseth but expressed frustration that staffing problems are overshadowing his policy agenda. Trump’s first weeks in office were relatively drama-free, with Democrats on their back foot over his fast-paced rollback of the federal government, but that reprieve has given way to days of negative headlines.
“There’s a difference between personnel and policy, and the White House has got to be very frustrated that the personnel piece is dominating the headlines,” said a GOP consultant close to the White House. “There’s a learning curve and it’s clear Hegseth isn’t in his rhythm yet.”
Democrats are intensifying demands for Hegseth’s dismissal as the chaos grows, while also criticizing Republicans for refusing to break with Trump.
“When the Secretary of Defense screws up, servicemembers’ lives are on the line,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, said in a post on X. “Pete Hegseth has shown time and time again he screws up way too much to do this job. He must resign or be fired.”
When the Secretary of Defense screws up, servicemembers’ lives are on the line.
Pete Hegseth has shown time and time again he screws up way too much to do this job. He must resign or be fired.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) April 22, 2025
A senior Democratic aide familiar with discussions said there’s not fresh outrage but rather fatigue among GOP Senate staffers who must help their bosses address the controversies surrounding Hegseth. Lawmakers are on a two-week recess, limiting the ability of reporters to question congressional Republicans, but that will soon change as Congress comes back in session on Monday.
“There’s just a level of exhaustion of constantly having to defend this guy and come out and, you know, explain away the news or find new ways to downplay the incident,” the Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added.
“The staff are, excuse my French, but they’re f***ing done with this. I mean, they are just tired of, like, just the amateurism,” they said.
Hegseth, like Trump, is embraced by the Republican base as an insurgent figure, with his time on Fox News helping to forge a sense of familiarity and trust among supporters.
HEGSETH ACKNOWLEDGES SHARING ‘UNCLASSIFIED’ INFO IN SIGNAL CHATS ‘THEN AND NOW’
Most Republicans don’t see a situation in which Trump replaces Hegseth, at least in the short term.
“In a different era, there’s no question that Hegseth wouldn’t have even been nominated, let alone survived through this, but we aren’t playing by the Marquess of Queensberry rules anymore,” Dennis Lennox, a Michigan-based GOP strategist, said.
“Unless and until Trump views Hegseth as untenable or as a useful sacrificial lamb to get something through the Senate,” he added, “it’s hard to see him not staying at the Pentagon.”