Overview

• Multiple qualified candidates have declined senior posts under Hegseth, prompting Vice President Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to lead recruitment efforts
• In April, he shared details of a U.S. operation in Yemen over an unsecured Signal group chat that included family members and personal aides, triggering an inspector general inquiry
• White House officials curtailed his planned Middle East trip and reassigned oversight of the suspended aides’ investigation after questioning his objectivity
• He is scheduled to testify before House and Senate committees this week to answer questions on Pentagon spending plans, the Signal breach and his staffing decisions
• Turnover in his senior team and the departures of his chief of staff and spokesperson have left him heavily dependent on former military aide Ricky Buria