Overview
- A senior adviser’s complaint that he could face a polygraph prompted the White House to halt testing of staff suspected of leaking.
- The polygraph initiative began with a March 21 memo from Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, targeting unauthorized disclosures.
- Three senior aides—Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick—were fired or resigned after being accused without supporting evidence.
- Congressional committees and the Defense Department’s inspector general are still probing Signal communications and leak allegations.
- President Trump has publicly backed Hegseth despite bipartisan concerns over the impact on military readiness and procedural irregularities.