Republican Representative Thomas Massie has introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Democrats are on board, and there are murmurings that enough Republicans could agree to boot the former Fox News personality.
Now, a former Pentagon spokesperson, John Ullyot, who was a part of Team Trump all the way back in 2016 when he served on the transition team and has held several roles across both Trump Administrations, is saying that Hegseth should resign, rather than wait for the impeachment process.
His reasoning differs somewhat, though, from that of most who are calling for Hegseth to be removed.
“The President Deserves Better”
Ullyot makes it clear in a new interview with NPR that he’s a full-fledged Trump loyalist. (Trump, notably, is currently standing behind Hesgeth.) However, he says that Hegseth should resign, because if he’s the target of criticism, it could harm Trump, too.
In fact, he’s written a book with the same title, which purports to offer strategies for protecting Trump’s goals. One of his strongest recommendations is that anyone who “becom[es] a drag on the president” should demonstrate true loyalty by “get[ting] off the stage.”
Ullyot doesn’t even seem to disagree with Hegseth’s actions, and opens his interview by complaining that the Secretary of Defense is “being attacked not for losing conflicts with our enemies, but for winning them.”
He does speak out against Hegseth’s handling of public relations, saying that his “bombastic” style worked well for Fox News but that he should have “pivoted” for his current role, specifically addressing that Hegseth says any criticism of his leadership is an attack on the troops and on the president.
“My view and the view of many others, is that the President actually deserves better than this, especially going into the last two years of his presidency when, unlike the previous two years, there’s actually going to be robust oversight of the Secretary and of the Department of Defense…He can do better than having a bombastic secretary for the next two years…If you’re truly loyal to the President and you become a target…you should step out of the way, because you’re becoming baggage to the President.”
One of the tasks of Congress is oversight, and Ullyot, calling Hegseth a “liability,” acknowledges that it will finally be serving that purpose. He also acknowledges at least two of Hegseth’s actions in office “possibly are criminal.” He’s referring to sharing classified information with his wife over Signal and the “double tap” strike, in which Hegseth reportedly ordered a military strike on a boat he claimed was smuggling drugs, and a second strike to kill survivors clinging to the wreckage. These and other acts are named in Massie’s articles of impeachment.
Ullyot’s Own Resignation Occurred Under Scrutiny
Ullyot resigned as acting assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs last year. According to Newsweek, he said that he was leaving because he “was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs,” but a Department of Defense official said that Ullyot was actually asked to resign.
He, too, had made headlines for his actions on behalf of Trump, particularly for boasting about eliminating “DEI,” at the Department of Defense, which included removing web pages dedicated to such figures as Jackie Robinson, whose military record was returned to the website after the Department was questioned about the removal.
Hegseth had ordered the “purge” of content deemed “DEI,” and Ullyot made statements defending the actions of removing pages regarding historical figures, according to CBS.
“Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others — we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop…We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like every other American who has worn the uniform.”
Nonetheless, he was soon relegated to second position on public affairs, and a few months later, was out.
What Hegseth & Trump Are Saying About Impeachment
Hegseth has, indeed, passed the buck to Donald Trump, saying that every act was ordered by the President, then passed on as an order by Hegseth himself, before being carried out by the military.
He denies that any of the acts were unlawful, though.
Trump’s position, as of Monday night, is that he’ll stand by Hegseth, and that Massie is the real problem.
“He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. I had great people. Massie’s a loser.”
Massie introduced the Articles of Impeachment on Tuesday, and the first procedural vote is expected by the end of the day.
