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Washington Post
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Top Hegseth aide tried to oust senior White House liaison from Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's acting chief of staff tried and failed to oust a senior White House liaison assigned to the Pentagon, people familiar with the matter said Monday, detailing an unusual dispute that marks the latest instance of infighting among a staff plagued by disagreement and distrust. The clash last week between Ricky Buria, Hegseth's acting chief of staff, and Matthew A. McNitt, who coordinates personnel policy as White House liaison at the Pentagon, appears rooted in Buria's frustration with pushback from the White House as he has attempted to fill positions in the defense secretary's office. It coincides, too, with the White House's refusal to let Buria take over the powerful chief of staff job on a permanent basis.
The Guardian
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump advisers abandon effort to find new chief of staff to serve Pete Hegseth
Donald Trump's advisers have abandoned an effort to find a new chief of staff to the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, allowing senior adviser Ricky Buria to continue performing the duties in an acting role despite once viewing him as a liability, according to people familiar with the matter. Buria is not expected to formally receive the White House's approval to become the permanent chief of staff to Hegseth, a position that became vacant after the first chief of staff, Joe Kasper, left in the wake of major upheaval in the secretary's front office earlier this year. But the attempt by the Trump advisers to block Buria from getting the job has fizzled in recent months as the news cycle moved away from the controversies that dogged Hegseth at the start of Trump's term and officials lost interest in managing personnel at the Pentagon, the people said. As a result, Buria has become a regular presence in the West Wing for briefings in the situation room and with senior White House and administration officials, and secured his standing at the Pentagon, where he is widely referred to as 'Chief Ricky'. The developments are sure to also be a relief for Hegseth, who for months has been staring down the prospect of having his closest aide shunted aside because of concerns at the White House about a growing portrait of dysfunction in his front office. White House officials may yet revisit installing a replacement for the chief of staff position, which plays a key role in managing Hegseth's front office and setting the direction of the $1tn defense department that oversees more than 2 million troops around the world. And it is uncertain if the extent to which senior White House and administration officials are now interacting with Buria is more because he is the only Hegseth aide empowered by the secretary to serve as his top staffer, rather than a vote of confidence by Trump's advisers. A spokesperson for the Pentagon referred reporting for this story to the White House. A spokesperson for the White House in a statement offered praise for Hegseth for 'restoring readiness and lethality to our military and putting our warfighters first after four years of ineptitude and abject failure by the Biden administration'. At least part of the reason for Buria's ascendancy at the defense department in recent months is because of a power vacuum in Hegseth's front office and his role in bringing about the departures of some of his biggest detractors and rivals, according to current and former Pentagon officials. A former MV-22 Osprey pilot who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Buria started as the junior military assistant to Joe Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, before Hegseth fired the senior military aide Lt Gen Jennifer Short and Buria swiftly stepped into the job. Buria then sought to become a political appointee and expanded his influence around the time that Hegseth's office became rocked by a contentious leak investigation that resulted in the ouster of three top aides and the early exit of Kasper. Their exits amounted to four of the biggest obstacles to Buria assuming the job of chief of staff vanishing overnight, the officials said, and Buria presenting them to Hegseth as the end of his troubles with leaks to the media endeared him to the secretary. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Hegseth has since defended Buria at every turn, even as the White House told the defense secretary he could keep Buria but that he would never become chief of staff, the Guardian previously reported. The White House was spooked by Buria's elevation for several reasons, including that he had been identified as having sent some of the messages in the Signal group chat, which contained information that was almost certainly classified, because he had gained access to Hegseth's phone. Hegseth accepted the compromise offered by the White House at the time but, in keeping Buria around, managed to in effect hand him the job anyway, two Trump advisers suggested. While Buria did not travel to the Nato summit last month, the Trump advisers said he did not get a seat on Air Force One with Hegseth or on a support plane because the trip was at capacity and senior aides to other secretaries were turned away. Still, the White House has maintained other reservations about Buria and his role in recurring office drama. Buria has also come under scrutiny in the Pentagon inspector general investigation into the Signalgate episode and whether he played a role in pushing out aides in the leak investigation.
The Guardian
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump advisers abandon effort to find new chief of staff to serve Pete Hegseth
Donald Trump's advisers have for now abandoned an effort to find a new chief of staff to serve the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, allowing senior adviser Ricky Buria, whom they once considered a liability, to continue performing the duties in an acting capacity, according to people familiar with the matter. Buria is not expected to formally receive the White House's approval to become the permanent chief of staff to Hegseth, a position that became vacant after the first chief of staff, Joe Kasper, left in the wake of major upheaval in the secretary's front office earlier this year. But the attempt by the Trump advisers to block Buria from getting the job has fizzled in recent months as the news cycle moved away from the controversies that dogged Hegseth at the start of Trump's term and officials lost interest in managing personnel at the Pentagon, the people said. As a result, Buria has become a regular presence in the West Wing for briefings in the situation room and with senior White House and administration officials, and secured his standing at the Pentagon, where he is widely referred to as 'Chief Ricky'. The developments are sure to also be a relief for Hegseth, who for months has been staring down the prospect of having his closest aide shunted aside because of concerns at the White House about a growing portrait of dysfunction in his front office. White House officials may yet revisit installing a replacement for the chief of staff position, which plays a key role in managing Hegseth's front office and setting the direction of the $1tn defense department that oversees more than 2 million troops around the world. And it is uncertain if the extent to which senior White House and administration officials are now interacting with Buria is more because he is the only Hegseth aide empowered by the secretary to serve as his top staffer, rather than a vote of confidence by Trump's advisers. A spokesperson for the Pentagon referred reporting for this story to the White House. A spokesperson for the White House did not respond to a request for comment. At least part of the reason for Buria's ascendancy at the defense department in recent months is because of a power vacuum in Hegseth's front office and his role in bringing about the departures of some of his biggest detractors and rivals, according to current and former Pentagon officials. A former MV-22 Osprey pilot who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Buria started as the junior military assistant to Joe Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, before Hegseth fired the senior military aide Lt Gen Jennifer Short and Buria swiftly stepped into the job. Buria then sought to become a political appointee and expanded his influence around the time that Hegseth's office became rocked by a contentious leak investigation that resulted in the ouster of three top aides and the early exit of Kasper. Their exits amounted to four of the biggest obstacles to Buria assuming the job of chief of staff vanishing overnight, the officials said, and Buria presenting them to Hegseth as the end of his troubles with leaks to the media endeared him to the secretary. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Hegseth has since defended Buria at every turn, even as the White House told the defense secretary he could keep Buria but that he would never become chief of staff, the Guardian previously reported. The White House was spooked by Buria's elevation for several reasons, including that he had been identified as having sent some of the messages in the Signal group chat, which contained information that was almost certainly classified, because he had gotten himself access to Hegseth's phone. Hegseth accepted the compromise offered by the White House at the time but, in keeping Buria around, managed to effectively hand him the job anyway, two Trump advisers suggested. While Buria did not travel to the Nato summit last month after he failed to secure a seat on Air Force One with Hegseth or on a separate support plane, the Trump advisers said that was because of capacity limitations on a trip that needed to carry other national security council staff. Still, the White House has maintained other reservations about Buria and his role in recurring office drama. Buria has also come under scrutiny in the Pentagon inspector general investigation into the Signalgate episode and whether he played a role in pushing out aides in the leak investigation.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon probes examine key Hegseth allies
Two of the Pentagon's top investigative bodies are digging into a pair of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's close aides and their role in the controversy surrounding government use of the Signal app to discuss sensitive information, according to three people familiar with the probes. The Defense Department Inspector General's office first opened an investigation in early April into whether Hegseth violated the agency's standards for sharing classified information by using the commercial messaging app to discuss active attack plans in Yemen. As part of that probe, investigators are looking into whether senior Hegseth aide Ricky Buria helped the Pentagon chief set up an unsecured internet line that bypassed the agency's security protocols and allowed Hegseth to access Signal, according to the three people, all of whom were interviewed recently by officials about the situation. The Signal app is not approved for government use when discussing classified information because of security concerns. In a separate inquiry led by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, a federal law enforcement agency within the Pentagon, investigators are asking whether Buria could have been a source for leaks when he sat in on sensitive meetings as a military aide earlier this year and had access to Hegseth's devices, according to the three people. Investigators for the Air Force agency, known as OSI, also want to know whether the Pentagon chief's personal attorney, Tim Parlatore — who serves as a top DOD adviser — attended meetings beyond his clearance level where classified information was discussed, and his role investigating the leaks, the three people said. The focus of the DOD probes on the two top Hegseth aides has not been previously reported. The inquiries into the actions of Hegseth and his inner circle could further destabilize the Pentagon's top ranks after a spate of firings in a leak investigation left the Defense secretary without a chief of staff or a top policy adviser for months. The Air Force investigation began this spring. 'Ricky and Tim are some of the folks that they're zeroing in on as they try to get to the root of everything,' said one of the people familiar with the two probes. This person, like the others, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive ongoing investigations. Buria didn't respond to a request for comment, while Parlatore declined to comment. The DOD IG declined to comment, citing longstanding policy not to talk publicly about the scope or timeline of oversight projects. The Air Force declined to discuss details about the probe. Buria, the top military aide who recently transitioned to a senior DOD civilian job, and Parlatore, Hegseth's longtime lawyer, have emerged as two of the Pentagon chief's most trusted allies. But officials have hinted that the administration's patience may be wearing thin from repeated missteps by Hegseth and his close allies— including catching much of Washington off guard on key policy decisions ranging from the freeze of Ukraine military aid to reviewing the AUKUS submarine deal. That Defense Department investigators have homed in on Buria and Parlatore also represents a possible step forward in a probe that has consumed the Pentagon for months. The Pentagon IG probe came after reports in The Atlantic that Hegseth in March had used Signal to discuss details of military operations in Yemen with top Trump administration officials. Questions the IG investigators have asked witnesses include, 'Who wrote the information attributed to the Secretary of Defense in The Atlantic regarding the 'Houthi PC Small Group' Signal chat?' and 'Please describe who was present with the Secretary of Defense on March 15, 2025,' the day he sent the messages, according to an email to potential witnesses ahead of interviews and obtained by POLITICO. The questions were first reported by the Associated Press. Investigators have asked about the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the Signal app, how extensively Hegseth used it and the veracity of messages reported by The Atlantic, according to the three people and the emails. The IG and OSI have also questioned witnesses about whether they were ever asked to delete Signal messages off their phones, according to two of the people, which could violate federal records laws, such as the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act. These may carry civil and administrative penalties. Officials can also be sentenced to jail time and forced to pay fines if they are found guilty of removing classified information or destroying government records under similar laws. One of the people said that OSI investigators asked by name whether Buria or Parlatore made those requests. The Pentagon did not answer questions about probes into Hegseth or his allies at the Defense Department, but it championed the Pentagon chief's resume. 'Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has successfully reoriented the Department of Defense to put the interests of America's Warfighters and America's taxpayers first, and it has never been better positioned to execute on its mission than it is today,' Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement. 'The success speaks for itself.' An Air Force spokesperson confirmed OSI is 'conducting an investigation into allegations of unauthorized disclosures' on behalf of Hegseth's office, but declined to comment on the specifics of the probe. One of the people with knowledge of the matter said the investigators have been talking to witnesses since late April. The investigations have intensified questions about Hegseth's leadership in the department, one of the people familiar with the probe said. POLITICO previously reported that Hegseth was deferring to U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Erik Kurilla as planning for American military strikes against Iran ramped up last month. U.S. allies have also been caught off guard by the Pentagon's abrupt pause of some weapons shipments to Ukraine. Hegseth's closest allies maintain that he has played a key role in the strikes, pushing NATO allies to a 5 percent defense spending target, and boosting recruiting. 'None of this would have been possible without the complete unity and discipline of the OSD team and the vision and leadership of our commander-in-chief," Parnell said in the statement. Parlatore's presence in Hegseth's inner circle has raised questions about conflicts of interest, as he has been involved in multiple legal cases opposing the U.S. government, including defending retired four-star Adm. Robert Burke against charges of alleged corruption. Parlatore, who has said he doesn't market himself to clients as a Navy reservist or a Hegseth adviser, has dismissed the notion that his lawsuits represent an issue.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Inside Pete Hegseth's chaotic inner circle as report says defense secretary's team in ‘cold war'
The Pentagon is reportedly in the grip of a new Cold War, and it has nothing to do with Russia. A rift between two senior advisers to Pete Hegseth has led to a wider schism at the department, fueling speculation about the long-term prospects of the embattled defense secretary as a member of President Donald Trump 's Cabinet, according to reporting by The Washington Post. Numerous people familiar with the matter told the paper that claims of departmental unity are belied by continued dysfunction behind the scenes, stemming from personality conflicts, lack of experience, ongoing vacancies in important roles, and paranoia over what political crisis could erupt next. 'There's a cold war that exists in between flash points,' one person told the Post, recounting numerous instances when tempers have flared among key figures on the secretary's team. 'It's unsettling at times.' Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution, described the most combustible relationship as that between two Hegseth aides, Eric Geressy and Ricky Buria. They claim that Geressy, a retired soldier whom Hegseth has credited with mentoring him during their service in Iraq, has expressed ongoing concerns that Buria, until recently a military assistant to the defense secretary and now his acting chief of staff, has attempted to marginalize colleagues to enhance his own standing within the Trump administration. Amidst the fallout from the Signalgate scandal in March, tensions between the two are said to have boiled over when Geressy found out he was excluded from meetings during a trip across the Pacific by Hegseth and blamed Buria. Geressy also voiced concern about how many administration officials were using Signal and told staffers that the White House had a dim view of Buria, seeing him as self-important. A retired command sergeant major, Geressy is often praised by Hegseth, who awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross for combat valor. He leads the Joint Service Interagency Advisory Group (JSIAG), which includes numerous Special Operations troops and representatives from other government agencies. Their focus is on countering Mexican drug cartels, the Post reports. Buria was a Marine Corps pilot who previously served as a junior military aide for President Joe Biden 's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin. In February, his responsibilities expanded when he assumed the role of a three-star general after Hegseth fired his senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short, without providing any reason. This elevation, and his handling of it, reportedly irritated numerous senior military officers. When the temporary assignment was coming to a close, Buria requested to retire from the Marine Corps and become a senior civilian adviser to Hegseth, with the reported backing of the secretary's wife, Jennifer Hegseth, who has been advising him. When Hegseth's chief of staff, Joe Kasper, left in April, officials questioned whether the secretary could maintain departmental organization and manage disputes among staffers. He then named Buria as his acting chief of staff. It is unclear whether the White House will appoint a replacement or whether Buria can remain in the role long term. Asked about a New York Post report that Buria had called Trump and Vance 'crazy' and 'dumb' in the past, the president said on Sunday he didn't know who he was and would 'recommend that we don't take him' if such reporting was true. Geressy, meanwhile, is frustrated by the chaos at the Pentagon and has contemplated resigning, according to CNN, but has stayed on out of loyalty to both Hegseth and his team. These are tense times at the Pentagon, and friction between Geressy and Buria appears symptomatic of the instability at DoD after a series of scandals hit Hegseth, reportedly irritating the White House. Current and former defense officials told the Post that it is unclear how long Hegseth can remain in the role without imposing order among his own staff. Around the time of Buria's elevation, Hegseth fired three politically appointed senior defense officials whom he accused of leaking sensitive information to the media. Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll issued a scathing statement, stating that they had been slandered and that the claims leveled against them were baseless. Sean Parnell, a senior adviser and chief spokesman for Hegseth, minimized the tension, saying in a statement to the paper that 'workforce adjustments are a natural and necessary feature of any highly effective organization.' Hegseth is 'committed to ensuring the Department of Defense has the right people in the right positions to execute President Trump's agenda,' Parnell said. Furthermore, Parnell dismissed the significance of disagreements among Hegseth's staff, stating that Americans outside Washington 'don't care about 'palace intrigue' or sensationalized, mainstream media gossip — they care about action.' He said Hegseth's team is 'working in unison' to focus the Defense Department on 'its core mission of warfighting and to deliver results.' Parnell is one of three new senior advisers appointed in the wake of the recent firings. Justin Fulcher and Patrick Weaver are the other two, with the former coming from DOGE and the latter having previously served as a congressional aide, on the National Security Council, and in the Department of Homeland Security. Speaking on Monday at a Memorial Day wreath laying, Trump continued to show support for Hegseth, calling him a 'tough cookie,' and saying he has 'devoted his life to service members and veterans,' while acknowledging that he 'went through a lot.'
