Pete Hegseth got here in sizzling.
The tatted-up warhawk who’d spent the previous seven years as a “Fox & Pals” weekend host was on no person’s brief checklist for protection secretary when incoming President Trump made him his decide to guide the most important group on this planet.
His lack of expertise operating a big group was just one downside. Few in management on the Pentagon had heard of him, nor had many senators whose job it will be to verify him.
Then there have been the scandals.
Feedback he’d made about ladies in fight and variety within the navy; allegations of monetary mismanagement; accusations of sexual assault; infidelity and what he referred to as being a “serial cheater;” allegations of extreme alcohol use.
However regardless of a rocky highway to affirmation and a slew of public humiliations that may have compelled most into everlasting reclusivity, Hegseth emerged from the battle with a chip on his shoulder and a swagger in his step — like somebody who had not simply been described by a fight veteran and sitting U.S. senator as “unprepared, unqualified, unethical, and unfit to be secretary of protection.”
“It’s time to present somebody with mud on his boots the helm. A change agent,” he stated defiantly.
Hegseth promised to overtake the Division of Protection to expunge the “wokeism” he thought of to be a deadly detriment to the U.S. navy. His, in distinction, could be “a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and readiness.”
Within the jingoistic and roided-out vernacular embraced by MAGA, he was there to foster a “warrior tradition.”
However three months later Hegseth’s Pentagon is an absolute mess.
The headlines paint a bleak image:
“The vicious rivalries tearing aside Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon.”
“Beneath Hegseth, Chaos Prevails on the Pentagon.”
“Full-blown meltdown’ at Pentagon after Hegseth’s second Sign chat revealed.”
A lot of that is his personal doing, after all. Signalgates 1.0 and a pair of.0, whereby the secretary of protection was caught having delicate nationwide safety conversations — in some instances with kin and strangers — on a commercially obtainable app, have been fully his fault. That form of incompetence and recklessness didn’t make his Pentagon appear very “laser-focused.” And when nobody was fired and even reprimanded for the FUBAR, the accountability Hegseth promised had seemingly gone AWOL.
As a substitute, a trifecta of “leakers” was fired, Pentagon senior staffers who have been reportedly Hegseth’s closest advisers. A number of high-profile resignations have adopted.
However Signalgate was “only the start of the Month from Hell,” based on Hegseth’s personal former chief spokesman John Ullyot.
Then there was information that Hegseth introduced his spouse, a former Fox Information producer, to conferences “with overseas navy counterparts, the place delicate info was mentioned” — actions {that a} former senior Pentagon official referred to as “unprecedented,” and one other “bewildering.”
Then there was the wildly-conflicted top-secret briefing the Pentagon arrange for Elon Musk on China — finally canceled by the White Home.
Then Signalgate 2.0, adopted by bombshell studies of “vicious rivalries” and infighting on the very high of Hegseth’s org chart.
“There’s a full meltdown within the constructing,” stated an insider, “and that is actually reflecting on the secretary’s management.”
In response, Hegseth’s carried out what Trump taught him and each different MAGA loyalist to do: blame the media. As a result of absolutely, this was our fault.
“What a giant shock that a number of leakers get fired and out of the blue a bunch of hit items come out from the identical media that peddled the Russia hoax,” he growled.
The extremely lame buck-passing appears unbefitting of a warrior — somebody with mud on his boots — and unbefitting of an company that was going to rid itself of “dumb” distractions like DEI in favor of extra macho issues like lethality and readiness.
If Hegseth wished our navy to be feared, his management has up to now had the alternative impact — if something, the shenanigans at Protection have weakened our standing on this planet.
Hegseth’s lack of {qualifications} ought to have disqualified him. His private peccadillos also needs to have been purpose for pause on his affirmation. However even if you happen to imagine he was the proper man for the job, it’s exhausting to argue now that he ought to stay in it.
The sloppy safety breaches, the embarrassing headlines, the uncontrollable infighting and undermining, the shortage of accountability — this all belongs to Hegseth. Even forgetting the scandals, his clear lack of administration expertise is purpose sufficient to wash home and begin over.
However realizing Trump, he’s unlikely to present in to what he considers a media witch hunt and hit job, and never the disaster it truly is. So the Pentagon may simply stay in Pete’s fumbling arms. Don’t fear although — it’s solely our nationwide safety.
S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.
