I was worried from the beginning, as Pete Hegseth doesn't have much experience, says Nebraska Republican Bacon, who sits on the defense committee and was a general in the air force, in an interview with Politico.
Don Bacon says it's not up to him to fire Hegseth, but emphasizes that he wouldn't have tolerated the defense minister's actions if he himself had been president:
If it's true that he had another chat with his family regarding the operation against the Huthi movement (in Yemen) it's completely unacceptable.
Above the law?
On March 15, it was revealed that Hegseth and several other high-ranking officials and politicians had used the app Signal to discuss attack plans against Yemen. The move received widespread attention, both due to the security risk and because the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was mistakenly invited to the chat.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the defense minister had discussed the air strike in another Signal chat group on his private phone the same day. The group included, among others, his wife, his brother, and his personal lawyer, according to information from four anonymous sources to The New York Times.
The use of a private phone and the commercial app Signal particularly catches the eye of Don Bacon. This in light of the resources foreign antagonists devote to hacking government officials' phones, he says.
Russia and China have access to his phone. That he uses it for (state) secrets is not right. He's behaving as if he's above the law and it shows that he's an amateur.
Even in the Senate, the chamber that barely approved the former TV anchor Hegseth's appointment as defense minister in January, Republicans are starting to get cold feet, reports The Hill.
He's losing confidence. It's one thing after another, says a Republican senator who doesn't want to give their name.
Another senator says the party group is in a "wait and see" mode.
A "meltdown"
Senators are worried about what the media calls Signalgate, but also about reports that the situation at the Pentagon is chaotic with leaks and personal attacks. Last week, at least three high-ranking officials were fired. Hegseth's former press secretary John Ullyot, who also quit, describes the atmosphere at headquarters as a "full-scale meltdown."
Hegseth himself and the White House have dismissed the reports as "anonymous smear campaigns" from disgruntled former employees and "fake news."
44-year-old Pete Hegseth has been a commentator and program host on Fox News since 2014. He has also been a national guardsman and served in Cuba and Iraq.
Politically, he has questioned women's roles in combat and opposed a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
President Donald Trump's decision to appoint him as defense minister sparked sharp criticism. Among other things, he was accused of lacking experience, having alcohol problems, and sexual misconduct. Hegseth was investigated in 2017 for suspected sexual misconduct, but no charges were filed.
In the vote on him, the Senate, the chamber that approves ministerial appointments, was divided. There were even Republicans (Trump's party) who wanted to vote no. In the end, Vice President JD Vance cast the deciding vote and Hegseth was approved.
