John Ullyot is former chief Pentagon spokesman and led communications at the National Security Council and the Department of Veterans Affairs in President Donald Trump’s first term. He resigned from the Pentagon last week. He was a senior communications adviser on Trump’s 2016 campaign.
It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon. From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership.
President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.
The latest flashpoint is a near collapse inside the Pentagon’s top ranks. On Friday, Hegseth fired three of his most loyal senior staffers — senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of Defense. In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month.Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.
It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon. From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership.
President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.
The latest flashpoint is a near collapse inside the Pentagon’s top ranks. On Friday, Hegseth fired three of his most loyal senior staffers — senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of Defense. In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month.Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, Hegseth’s team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.
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00:00John Olliot is former Chief Pentagon Spokesman and led communications at the National Security Council and the Department of Veterans Affairs in President Donald Trump's first term.
00:11He resigned from the Pentagon last week.
00:14He was a senior communications advisor on Trump's 2016 campaign.
00:20It's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon.
00:23From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president.
00:32Who deserves better from his senior leadership?
00:34President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account.
00:40Given that, it's hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.
00:46The latest flashpoint is a near collapse inside the Pentagon's top ranks.
00:51On Friday, Hegseth fired three of his most loyal senior staffers, Senior Advisor Dan Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Staff Darren Selnick and Colin Carroll, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
01:06In the aftermath, Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month.
01:19Yet, none of this is true.
01:22While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test.
01:30In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing.
01:38Unfortunately, Hegseth's team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.
01:50Hegseth, team