More than half of Republican congressional aides believe that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has harmed President Donald Trump’s foreign policy goals, according to a new poll.
During his 13-month tenure at the helm of the Department of Defense, aka the Department of War, Hegseth has presided over a major Signal group chat security breach, faced scrutiny over deadly missile strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and is now overseeing Trump’s war in Iran.
A survey by Punchbowl News found that 72 percent of senior aides on Capitol Hill believe that Hegseth has harmed Trump’s foreign policy priorities, with just 9 percent of staffers saying he had helped the president’s agenda.
A majority (52 percent) of GOP staffers agreed that Hegseth has harmed the president’s foreign policy agenda, compared to 92 percent of Democratic aides who said the same.
The survey was carried out between February 10 and March 2, largely before the war in Iran broke out on February 28, but captured the first few days of U.S. and Israeli bombardment. The outlet acknowledged the public view of Hegseth “could change depending on the success” of Operation Epic Fury.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kinglsey Wilson said that Trump is “the only person” who sets his foreign policy agenda in a statement to The Independent.
“President Trump has repeatedly praised Secretary Hegseth’s leadership and impact on the military,” Wilson said. “The only feedback we’re interested in is from the president, our warfighters, and the American people, not a poll from a left-wing congressional site within the bubble of Washington, D.C.”
The White House said Hegseth was doing “an incredible job” in a statement to The Independent, and touted the “ongoing success” of the war in Iran, in addition to the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“Secretary Hegseth works in lockstep with President Trump every day to ensure the American military continues to be the greatest, most powerful fighting force in the world that will crush our enemies and defend our great Nation,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
It has been a bumpy year for the defense chief, who faced calls to resign after a report by the Inspector General found that he risked endangering U.S. troops by sharing highly sensitive information about military operations on a Signal group chat.
Hegseth sent multiple messages about airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen to a group chat on the private messaging app that included Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It also included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who was added accidentally by then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The messages contained classified and real-time information about the strikes and so specific that one read: “This is when the first bombs will drop.”
The incident immediately became a scandal known as “Signalgate” as numerous people mocked Hegseth for the blunder.
Sean Parnell, Pentagon chief spokesman, claimed that the Inspector General’s report was a “total exoneration” of Hegseth.
Then, at the end of last year, Hegseth was scrutinized over his handling of strikes of alleged drug boats and “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean. Questions swirled after one vessel was attacked twice, a move that was criticized by many. Some critics called for him to be fired, while others branded him a “war criminal.”
Hegseth, a military veteran and former Fox News host, vehemently denied the claims and dismissed them as “fabricated, inflammatory and derogatory.”
Trump has stood by his defense secretary despite the problems and has told the press Hegseth will stay in his current role.
