Trump must monitor Hegseth

Donald Trump may be right when he blames the latest controversy surrounding his embattled Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, on disgruntled officials who have lost their jobs. But that should not stop the US President from being troubled by what appears to be another security breach in the Defence Department, a branch of government that plays a key role in co-ordinating military relations between the US and its allies, including Australia.

Just why Mr Hegseth should have included his wife, brother and personal lawyer in a second chat on the Signal messaging service – a commercial app deemed unsuitable to communicate classified information – during which highly sensitive details of a US attack on Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen were disclosed is unclear, if not bewildering. But what is certain is that the disclosure adds further urgency to worrying claims of ongoing chaos in the US Defence Department following the emergence in March of another security blunder in which The Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was unwittingly included in a similar Signal chat. During that chat, highly classified but precise details of US plans for attacks on the Houthis were discussed. According to US reports, the second chat – dubbed “Signalgate 2.0” – was organised by Mr Hegseth. It involved 13 people gathered under the name “Defense/Team Huddle” and included details of US attack aircraft launch times. In both instances Mr Hegseth has emphatically denied any classified information was disclosed. He has accused the US media of taking “anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees” and trying “to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations”. On Tuesday AEST he received a public vote of confidence from Mr Trump, who maintained he was “doing a great job”.

There may be merit in Mr Trump’s loyalty to cabinet appointees. But he would be wise not to ignore the accounts of chaos in the Defence Department since Mr Hegseth’s arrival. As The Wall Street Journal noted, Mr Hegseth has spent his first weeks in office “validating the criticisms” of those who opposed his appointment. That is not good news for the Trump administration or America’s allies. It demands action from the White House.