Hegseth has pumped up the Pentagon in a chaotic mess

Pete Hegseth came in hot.

The tatted-up war hawk who’d spent the last seven years as a "Fox & Friends" weekend host was on nobody’s short list for Defense secretary when incoming President Donald Trump made him his pick to lead the largest organization in the world.

His lack of experience running a large organization was only one problem. Few in leadership at the Pentagon had heard of him, nor had many senators whose job it would be to confirm him.

Then there were the scandals.

Comments he’d made about women in combat and diversity in the military; allegations of financial mismanagement; accusations of sexual assault; infidelity and what he called being a "serial cheater;" allegations of excessive alcohol use.

But despite a rocky road to confirmation and a slew of public humiliations that would have forced most into permanent reclusivity, Hegseth emerged from the battle with a chip on his shoulder and a swagger in his step — like someone who had not just been described by a combat veteran and sitting U.S. senator as "unprepared, unqualified, unethical and unfit to be secretary of Defense."

"It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm, a change agent," he said defiantly.

Hegseth promised to overhaul the Department of Defense to expunge the "wokeism" he considered to be a fatal detriment to the U.S. military. His, in contrast, would be "a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, war fighting, accountability and readiness."

In the jingoistic and roided-out vernacular embraced by MAGA, he was there to foster a "warrior culture."

But three months later Hegseth’s Pentagon is an absolute mess.

The headlines paint a bleak picture:

"The vicious rivalries tearing apart Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon."

"Under Hegseth, Chaos Prevails at the Pentagon."

"'Full-blown meltdown’ at Pentagon after Hegseth’s second Signal chat revealed."

Much of this is his own doing, of course. Signalgates 1.0 and 2.0, wherein the secretary of Defense was caught having sensitive national security conversations — in some cases with relatives and strangers — on a commercially available app, were entirely his fault. That kind of incompetence and recklessness didn’t make his Pentagon seem very "laser-focused." And when no one was fired or even reprimanded for the FUBAR, the accountability Hegseth promised had seemingly gone AWOL.

Instead, a trifecta of "leakers" was fired, Pentagon senior staffers who were reportedly Hegseth’s closest advisers. Several high-profile resignations have followed.

But Signalgate was "just the beginning of the month from hell," according to Hegseth’s own former chief spokesman John Ullyot.

Then there was news that Hegseth brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to meetings "with foreign military counterparts, where sensitive information was discussed" — actions that a former senior Pentagon official called "unprecedented," and another "bewildering."

Then there was the wildly conflicted top-secret briefing the Pentagon set up for Elon Musk on China — eventually canceled by the White House.

Then Signalgate 2.0, followed by bombshell reports of "vicious rivalries" and infighting at the very top of Hegseth’s org chart.

"There is a complete meltdown in the building," said an insider, "and this is really reflecting on the secretary’s leadership."

In response, Hegseth’s done what Trump taught him and every other MAGA loyalist to do: blame the media. Because surely, this was our fault.

"What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired, and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax," he growled.

The ultra lame buck-passing seems unbefitting of a warrior — someone with dust on his boots — and unbefitting of an agency that was going to rid itself of "dumb" distractions like diversity, equity and inclusion in favor of more macho things like lethality and readiness.

If Hegseth wanted our military to be feared, his leadership has thus far had the opposite effect — if anything, the shenanigans at the Defense Department have weakened our standing in the world.

Hegseth’s lack of qualifications should have disqualified him. His personal peccadillos should also have been reason for pause on his confirmation. But even if you believe he was the right man for the job, it’s hard to argue now that he should remain in it.

The sloppy security breaches, the embarrassing headlines, the uncontrollable infighting and undermining, the lack of accountability — this all belongs to Hegseth. Even forgetting the scandals, his clear lack of management skills is reason enough to clean house and start over.

But knowing Trump, he’s unlikely to give in to what he considers a media witch hunt and hit job, and not the crisis it actually is. So the Pentagon might just remain in Pete’s fumbling hands. Don’t worry though — it’s only our national security.

S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.

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