White House responds to NPR report on search for Hegseth replacement: ‘FAKE NEWS’
The White House on Monday blasted an NPR report that a search was underway for a new Pentagon chief as “fake news” following new reporting about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal app and criticism from former Pentagon officials.
“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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social platform X.
The administration’s Rapid Response team also called the piece “wrong” and “fake news” on X.
NPR, citing an anonymous U.S. official, reported that the White House had begun the process of looking for a replacement for Hegseth.
The development came after The New York Times reported Sunday that Hegseth shared information about planned strikes in Yemen in a private chat on Signal with his wife, his brother and his personal lawyer.
“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,” Hegseth told reporters at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, knocking the Times reporting.
“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” Hegseth continued.