Republican senators say reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth froze weapons shipments to Ukraine without getting approval from President Trump raise serious questions about the level of coordination between the White House and Pentagon and warrants a closer review of the matter by Congress.

As CNN reports, Hegseth’s rogue move led to chaos in the White House, with the Trump administration frantically trying to figure out why the weapons shipments had been stopped—then having to justify the action to both Congress and the Ukrainian government.

At least three people have turned down potential roles working for the defense secretary and former Fox News host. Supporters say his leadership has been effective.

The instability Hegseth is accused of bringing to the Pentagon is also said to be a factor in his failure to inform the White House that he’d stopped Ukraine’s arms shipment: He has no chief of staff, is having a hard time finding one, and lacks senior advisers who might have been able to prevent the fiasco.

The White House has begun the process of looking for a new leader at the Pentagon to replace Pete Hegseth, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on February 26, 2025, in Washington D.C. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images What To Know

T he White House has insisted no classified information was shared on messaging platform Signal after reports emerged that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared information about upcoming ...