Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a former Air Force general and chairman of the House subcommittee on cyber issues, publicly criticized Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, raising serious concerns about his qualifications and conduct amid growing scrutiny over his use of unsecured communications channels.
In an interview with Politico, Bacon said the Department of Defense has descended into “chaos” under Hegseth’s leadership, echoing a recent op-ed by former DoD official John Ullyot that described the Pentagon as being in a state of “full-blown meltdown.”
Bacon pointed to Hegseth’s limited experience as a key vulnerability. “I like him on Fox,” Bacon said, “but does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.”
This @NPR story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about.
As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind @SecDef. https://t.co/5Npig8968v
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 21, 2025
Bacon’s remarks follow a New York Times report alleging that Hegseth shared information about U.S. military operations in Yemen, including actions against the Houthi rebels, in a private Signal group chat. The chat reportedly included Hegseth’s wife, his brother, and his personal lawyer—none of whom hold official security clearances.
“If it’s true that he had another Signal chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable,” Bacon said. He noted that adversaries such as China and Russia devote significant resources to monitoring top-level communications, making the secretary of Defense a high-priority target for foreign intelligence.
“For him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right,” Bacon added. “He’s acting like he’s above the law.”
This marks the second known incident of officials within the Trump administration using Signal to exchange potentially sensitive defense-related information, raising alarms about communication security and internal discipline at the Pentagon.
Although Bacon stopped short of explicitly calling for Hegseth to resign, he made clear he would not tolerate such behavior if he were president. “I’m not in the White House, and I’m not going to tell the White House how to manage this… but I find it unacceptable,” he said. His comments add weight to the growing unease within the GOP about Hegseth’s suitability for the role.
Meanwhile, speculation over Hegseth’s future intensified after NPR reported that President Trump was considering replacing him. The report was based on a single anonymous source and was swiftly dismissed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as “total FAKE NEWS,” reaffirming that the president “stands strongly behind” Hegseth.
