White House Press Secretary Caroline Lewitt disputed a report from NPR claiming President Donald Trump was trying to replace Pete Hegses with Secretary of Defense.
The White House has been caught up in a controversy over its information security since Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg appeared to have been accidentally added to the group chat.
A similar controversy broke out in April, according to The New York Times, reportedly Hegzes shared details of a March military airstrike on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houtis in another signalling chat, including his wife and brother.
The White House denied that President Donald Trump has declared that he will be standing behind him instead as replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegses. (Getty Images)
NSA Microphone Waltz is responsible for signal chat leaks
NPR shared the report Monday, claiming in these controversy that “The White House has begun a process of searching for a new Secretary of Defense,” according to US officials who were not allowed to speak publicly.
Note that the report was updated immediately and Leavitt competed for its accuracy.
“This @NPR story is totally fake news based on an anonymous source that clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” a White House spokesperson wrote. “As the president said this morning, he stands strong behind @secdef.”
Fox News Digital reached out to NPR for comment on Leavitt’s post and did not respond immediately.
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White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt held a press conference at the White House in Washington on March 5, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarck)
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The White House’s quick response account also shared posts denounce the report, claiming “A lie from NPR – as we all know, this is a fake news propaganda machine.”
The Trump administration has urged Congress to withdraw federal funds for both NPR and PBS.
Director Russ, the Office of Management and Budget, drafted a memo this month asking lawmakers to cut the $1.1 billion allocated to the company for public broadcasting (CPB), and $8.3 billion allocated to USAID.
Fox News’ Stephen Thores, Joseph A. Wolfson and Hannah Panrek contributed to this report.
