Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff left his role on Thursday after spending less than 100 days in the position, the latest shakeup at the Pentagon amid a series of controversies and firings.
Joe Kasper is leaving his role as Hegseth’s chief of staff voluntarily to move into a part-time “special government employee” position, focusing on science, technology and industry, Kasper told the Washington Post.
A senior defense official confirmed to The Independent that Kasper will continue working on projects as a designated special government employee.
His departure arrives as Hegseth’s office faces allegations of mismanagement, disorganization and “total chaos” while the defense secretary is accused of mishandling sensitive information in another Signal group chat.
It’s unclear what exactly led Kasper to leave his role, but Hegseth seemingly maintains a good relationship with him, telling Fox & Friends last week that his chief of staff was “a great guy” and had “done a fantastic job.”
The “special government employee” designation is the same one Elon Musk has accepted as part of President Donald Trump’s administration. It means Kasper can work up to 130 days as a government employee in one year.
Some people familiar with the situation told the New York Times that staffers reportedly complained about Kasper’s unsystematic leadership style, claiming he went on unrelated tangents during meetings and dropped the ball on paperwork.
Hegseth said Kasper was “certainly not fired.”
But the chief of staff’s departure contributes to a larger, unusual shakeup at the Pentagon at the hands of Hegseth.
Last week, a group of senior staffers was fired for allegedly leaking information to the press. Hegseth blamed one of those “disgruntled” staffers for telling reporters about the second Signal group chat with Hegseth, his wife, brother, personal lawyer and others.
A fourth former staff member, John Ullyot, wrote a scathing op-ed for Politico, accusing Hegseth of overseeing a chaotic office and scapegoating the three fired staffers for leaks.
Ullyot described working for Hegseth as a month of “total chaos” under Hegseth’s leadership.
