She was responding to reports citing anonymous sources that the White House was looking for a replacement for the secretary of defense.
The White House said on April 21 that it has not been looking for a replacement for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“This NPR story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on the social media platform X. “As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind [Heseth].”
This @NPR story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 21, 2025
As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind @SecDef. https://t.co/5Npig8968v
NPR reported earlier on Monday, citing a single anonymous source described as a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly, that the White House had started looking for a new secretary of defense.
It came after a different report, by The New York Times, said that Hegseth in mid-March shared details of a forthcoming attack in the Middle East to a chat group that included his wife and brother.
Hegseth was already known to have posted about the attack before it happened to a Signal group involving Cabinet officials such as CIA Director John Ratcliffe, a matter that is under investigation.
Hegseth on Monday, during an Easter event at the White House, blamed officials who were recently fired for the NY Times report.
“What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,” he said, referring to the promotion by some outlets of the belief that President Donald Trump’s first campaign was closely linked with Russian actors.
A Department of Defense spokesperson did not deny that Hegseth was talking about the attack in Yemen with a second Signal group, but said he did not share classified information in any Signal chats.
Some Democrats said this week that Hegseth should be replaced.
“More and more damning information just keeps pouring out about Pete Hegseth’s chaotic leadership. It endangers our servicemembers. Hegseth must resign or be fired,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on social media platform X.
Trump told reporters at the White House that Hegseth “is doing a great job.”
“It’s just fake news. They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. He was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that’s what he’s doing, so you don’t always have friends when you do that,” Trump said.
