First Republican calls on Trump to FIRE Pete Hegseth

A Republican member of the powerful House Armed Services Committee is calling on the president to dismiss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as pressure mounts following a stunning Pentagon purge amid charges of 'chaos.'

Rep. Don Bacon's sizzling comments came shortly after the president defended his embattled Pentagon chief at the annual White House Easter Egg roll.

Trump's support came even after it was reported that he maintained a second private Signal group chat group that included his wife and brother where he discussed an imminent military attack.

'I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,' the Nebraska lawmaker told Politico, becoming the first House Republican to call for Hegseth to go.

'I like him on Fox,' Bacon said of the former cable TV commentator. 'But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.'

Bacon's scalding remarks follow a stunning op-ed in the publication by Hegseth's former Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot. 

Ullyot, a Marine Corps vet who served as a White House national security spokesman during Trump's first term, announced his resignation from the Pentagon Wednesday.

Ullyot called himself 'a longtime backer of the secretary,' but went on to write that the Pentagon was in 'a full-blown meltdown' and 'total chaos' amid the Signal chat scandals.

He said 'the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president - who deserves better from his senior leadership.' He even went on to predict: 'It’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.'

He had helped push the MAGA agenda inside the Pentagon by forcing legacy media outlets out of their workspace, then issued confusing comments defending the decision to take down a page honoring the military service of baseball great Jackie Robinson.

Trump brushed off the development Monday at the White House Easter Egg roll, dismissing the criticism by his own former aide. 

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Pete Hegseth knifed as former right hand man reveals 'full-blown meltdown' inside the Pentagon

'It's just fake news, they just bring up stories I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. You know he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people and that's what he’s doing. You don’t always have friends when you do that,' Trump said. 

And Hegseth insisted at the same event that he's 'on the same page' with Trump. 

Three senior Pentagon staffers were put on leave over the weekend as part of a leak investigation they claim was fabricated, creating a power vacuum. 

The Pentagon IG said it opened up an inquiry following the first Signal chat controversy, which involved Hegseth sharing information about an attack on the Houthis in Yemen on a group chat created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included on it.

The newly revealed signal chat, as reported by the New York Times, was created by Hegseth himself.