Amidst a week of turmoil at the Pentagon, Joe Kasper, the chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is preparing to step down from his position to take on a new role within the agency, as confirmed by a senior administration official.
The recent developments have seen senior adviser Dan Caldwell, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, the chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, placed on leave as part of an ongoing leak investigation. Subsequently, all three individuals were dismissed on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
While Caldwell, Carroll, Selnick, and Kasper have chosen not to provide comments on the situation, the Pentagon has yet to respond to inquiries.
Back in March, Kasper initiated an inquiry into leaks at the Pentagon, which encompassed sensitive military plans, including those related to the Panama Canal, deployment of a second carrier to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon, and intelligence collection for Ukraine.
However, tensions between Kasper and the ousted advisers began to surface within the Pentagon. An insider revealed, “Joe didn’t see eye to eye with those individuals. Their differing approaches led to conflicts. It was essentially a clash of personalities.”
These changes have left Hegseth’s front office without a chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, or senior adviser, raising concerns about the leadership within the Pentagon. A former defense official remarked, “The current situation in the building reflects poorly on the secretary’s leadership. Pete Hegseth has surrounded himself with individuals who may not have his best interests at heart.”
