Posted on 04/19/2025 3:44:52 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
Joe Kasper, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff will leave his role in the coming days for a new position at the agency, according to a senior administration official, amid a week of turmoil for the Pentagon.
Senior adviser Dan Caldwell, Hegseth deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, were placed on leave this week in an ongoing leak probe. All three were terminated on Friday, according to three people familiar with the matter, who, like others, were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.
..
Kasper had requested an investigation into Pentagon leaks in March, which included military operational plans for the Panama Canal, a second carrier headed to the Red Sea, Musk’s visit and a pause in the collection of intelligence for Ukraine.
But some at the Pentagon also started to notice a rivalry between Kasper and the fired advisers.
“Joe didn’t like those guys,” said one defense official. “They all have different styles. They just didn’t get along. It was a personality clash.”
The changes will leave Hegseth without a chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, or senior adviser in his front office.
“There is a complete meltdown in the building, and this is really reflecting on the secretary’s leadership,” said a senior defense official. “Pete Hegseth has surrounded himself with some people who don’t have his interests at heart.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
The far left “media” freak show is causing this. Charges should be brought against the “media” for their lies and misinformation.
Polutico.
More anonymous sources used to spew discord. Same dirty tricks from Politico and the left.
Fox has reported on this story but their description is shorter on details.
Here's what Fox has to say about this story:
Pentagon's week of power struggles: Leak fallout and shouting matches hit Hegseth's inner circleDays of highly publicized departures at the Pentagon appear to have come from weeks – if not months – of simmering tensions and factional infighting, Fox News Digital can reveal.
According to multiple defense officials, the three employees put on leave this week were never told what they were accused of leaking, were not read their rights and were given no guidance on who they could or couldn’t speak to. They were also not asked to turn over their cellphones as part of the leak probe.
At least one of the former employees is consulting with legal counsel.
Top aides to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were placed on leave and escorted out of the building this week as the Pentagon probes unauthorized leaks: senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg.
On Friday evening, those three employees were fired, two defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital, along with chief of staff Joe Kasper.
Another press aide, John Ullyot, parted ways with the Pentagon because he did not want to be second-in-command of the communications shop.
Officials denied that the three men were placed on leave because of their foreign policy views and said they saw no connection to their positions on Iran and Israel – even as reports surfaced that President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Pentagon would not intervene if Israel attacked Iran.
Selnick was focused on operations, administration and personnel matters; Carroll was focused largely on acquisitions; and Caldwell advised mostly on the Europe portfolio.
But the trio were united, according to one defense official with knowledge of the situation, in the fact that Kasper had a "deep vendetta" against them. Kasper issued a memo in late March directing the Pentagon to investigate unauthorized disclosures to reporters and to go so far as using lie detector tests if necessary.
did Hegseth choose this staff? if so his judgment seems off. one problem, maybe- it can happen - but a group?
Here you have it, in a nutshell:
“Pete Hegseth has surrounded himself with some people who don’t have his interests at heart.”
Trump Administration Syndrome. You have to hand it to the Dems; they start right out, in the very beginning, by screeching that Trump, (and people who are loyal to him) are “dictators” who “demand loyalty, above all”, and then the damned fools bend over backwards to appear “non-partisan”-— and this is what you get. E V E R Y D A M N T I M E
When is this documented Dem paid party propaganda site going pay back the 8 M it owes US and then be delicensed .
There is no truth at this site . why post it .
Not unexpected.
Once at the Pentagon, their political leanings got the better of them and they started causing trouble.
There's going to be plenty of chaos because Pete's going to clean house. And it's a good thing that a lot of people are scared of losing their jobs. They'll either toe the line or get fired.
I heard something disturbing on tv news last night.... that the only conservative (non fake news) venue that Trumps cabinet people, many of whom were Fox employees, will appear on is FOX News. That is disturbing, considering the low life bottom feeders at FOX like Karl Rove and Paul Ryan!
I take it that these 3, at least, were holdovers from the previous admin.
See comment #6 above.
“Pete Hegseth has surrounded himself with some people who don’t have his interests at heart.”
Actually, it seems he’s removed people who don’t have his interests at heart.
CC
No. It is my understanding that they worked with Pete at Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) and he brought them with him.
i think Caldwell worked w/Hegseth at Concerned Veterans for
America,so presumably his guy.
Check their finances/off-0shore accounts.
?? Lutnick Bessent Miller Rubio have appeared elsewhere - alot.
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