In an appearance on Fox & Friends Tuesday morning, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pushed back against mounting criticism over the turmoil engulfing the Pentagon under his leadership, blaming the fallout on political enemies and “deep state forces” intent on undermining the Trump administration’s agenda.

The embattled Defense Secretary, a former co-host of the morning program, took to the airwaves just days after a damaging stretch of headlines that included the abrupt dismissal of several of his top aides, a scathing Politico column written by one of the ousted staffers calling his tenure “total chaos,” and a New York Times report alleging Hegseth improperly shared classified information over the encrypted messaging app Signal with his wife, brother, and attorney.

Throughout the interview with host Brian Kilmeade, a defiant Hegseth denied any wrongdoing and painted himself as a political target for entrenched bureaucrats hostile to the Trump agenda.

“We take classification very seriously,” Hegseth said. “Nothing I shared was classified. It was informal and unclassified material. These attacks are from people trying to sabotage the mission we’re on—to bring warfighting back to the Pentagon and end the woke nonsense that’s crippled our military.”

Dismissing the accusations as part of a broader attempt to derail Trump-era reforms, Hegseth portrayed himself as a victim of Washington’s elite establishment. “They’ve come after me from day one—just like they came after President Trump,” he said, lauding Trump’s resilience and describing his own efforts as part of a broader ideological battle.

Kilmeade asked Hegseth whether he believed “deep state” actors were trying to oust him. Hegseth responded: “Absolutely. But I’m not going anywhere. I know why I’m here—to root out the insidious ideologies infecting the Pentagon and restore America’s warfighting edge.”

He went on to defend his recent personnel purge, calling those fired “leakers” and accusing them of undermining Pentagon operations. “Once a leaker, always a leaker,” Hegseth said. “We’re conducting internal investigations, and we’ll keep doing whatever it takes to protect our mission and our troops.”

Notably, the aides he removed weren’t career bureaucrats or Obama-era holdovers—they were members of his own inner circle, brought in at the start of his tenure. The contradiction raises questions about Hegseth’s judgment and leadership style. If these individuals were part of the so-called “deep state,” critics argue, it was Hegseth himself who put them there.

The Secretary also used the opportunity to outline his agenda: ending what he called “trans lunacy” in the military, restoring “standards and accountability,” and “taking 100 percent operational control of our border.”

“I’m not here to sip cocktails in Georgetown or do the Sunday shows,” he declared. “I’m here to make sure our enemies are on notice and our allies know we stand with them. That’s what the American people expect—and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)