Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff resigned on Thursday, adding to the string of high-profile departures at the Pentagon.
Joe Kasper, Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff, will transition to a part-time special government employee role, where he will consult on industry, science, and technology.
Mr. Kasper had reportedly been considering leaving Mr. Hegseth’s staff for weeks but was expected to take on another role at the Pentagon. During a Tuesday interview on Fox News, Mr. Hegseth reaffirmed his faith in Mr. Kasper and implied he could move to a different part of the Pentagon.
For years, Mr. Kasper served under former Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, California Republican, who was convicted of wire fraud and stealing campaign funds in 2020. However, Mr. Kasper was not connected to Mr. Hunter’s criminal activities and held several positions in the first Trump administration before working as a lobbyist.
Mr. Kasper’s departure comes as Mr. Hegseth’s Pentagon leadership continues to face severe scrutiny from staff, defense experts and the media.
Last week, Mr. Hegseth fired advisers Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick, accusing them of leaking to the press. The three former staffers vehemently denied the leaking allegations in a joint op-ed last weekend. The advisers also said their firings came as a result of intense infighting among factions within the Pentagon.
SEE ALSO: Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal, AP sources say
Additionally, the Defense Department’s inspector general is investigating Mr. Hegseth’s use of Signal to transmit sensitive information. Government officials sometimes use the encrypted messaging app for secure communications, but sharing classified or highly sensitive information on it is illegal.
Last month, Mr. Hegseth was one of several Trump administration officials who found themselves on the Signal chat that accidentally included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. The secretary shared what he said were unclassified strategies for an impending bombing operation targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen within the chat.
Mr. Hegseth’s Signal activity has faced intense criticism since the March controversy. Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that the secretary had created another Signal chat including his wife, brother, personal attorney, Mr. Kasper, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Carroll and Mr. Selnick. Mr. Hegseth maintains that the chat was established to discuss nonclassified work-related matters, while defense officials familiar with the chat say the secretary shared classified information in that chat as well.
Mr. Hegseth was also discovered to be operating a “dirty” network within the Pentagon that would allow him to bypass the building’s cybersecurity restrictions.
