Michael Wolff Says Pentagon Insiders Leaked 'Weird Conduct' to Oust Pete Hegseth, Despite Donald Trump's Support

Donald Trump biographer Michael Wolff has suggested that rebels within the Pentagon are leaking whatever they can to make the president fire Pete Hegseth.

Writing for his Substack blog HOWL, the Fire and Fury author said the constant stories about Hegseth's "blunders, stupidity, malfeasance, and weird conduct" are "part of a growing rear-guard rebellion to get him out."

The 46-year-old Secretary of Defense has been mired in controversy since taking over the job. In recent months, such controversies include him reportedly firing a top general because the general wanted to investigate an inane helicopter flyby near Kid Rock's house. Meanwhile, America's munitions are depleted and morale among U.S. soldiers is cratering due to their long deployments overseas.

The constant stream of negative stories has senior White House staff sick of Hegseth, Wolff said. The only reason the embattled secretary still has his job is because he still has Trump's support.

"In the White House, the president's closest circle of advisors believe Hegseth needs to be fired — yesterday is their timetable. Everyone is alarmed — truly, freaked out. He has no supporters left anywhere. Except for Donald Trump," he claimed.

Hegseth has made a point of trying to stomp out leaks of damaging stories.

In July, he announced a "task force" to identify Pentagon leakers, with a promise to prosecute them with "the full force of the law."

The announcement was met with reminders that Hegseth was behind arguably the most damaging leak of his tenure when he discussed military operations in a Signal chat that inadvertently had the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in it.

Hegseth hardly has the senior military experience that is typical of most defense secretaries. He was a major in the Army National Guard, and spent his late 30s and early 40s as a TV personality on Fox News. There, Fox executive Roger Ailes reportedly dubbed him "Colonel Vodka" for his propensity to drink heavily.

Hegseth's lack of qualifications could actually be why Trump likes him, Wolff suggested. Trump sought a Defense Secretary who would not challenge his whims after he was frustrated by James Mattis, the Defense Secretary during his first term. Mattis is a retired Marine Corps four-star general who would challenge Trump, to the chagrin of the president.

"[Hegseth] holds his current job not because of expertise, experience, and past successes, but precisely because he is lacking them," Wolff wrote. "Hence, Trump, in his second attempt at being president, hires Colonel Vodka to run his Defense Department."

But Hegseth's incompetence, already rankling military personnel inside the Pentagon, is reportedly wearing thin on senior staff, Wolff writes. Though Trump is still behind his embattled loyalist defense secretary, that may change.

Trump has shown a propensity to fire cabinet members who are the figureheads of stories damaging his administration. He fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi for bungling the Epstein files scandal, and axed former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem after the violent immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.

Hegseth could take the fall for the broadly unpopular Iran War, which is threatening to prevent Republicans from retaining the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms.

Despite the unpopular war, his lack of support within the Trump administration and record low approval rating, Hegseth is still reportedly considering a 2028 presidential run.