White House Shops Replacements for Hegseth's Deputy
White House Shops Replacements for Hegseth's Deputy
The News
The White House has reviewed candidates to potentially replace Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, three people familiar with the discussions told Reuters — a sign of more leadership churn at a Pentagon already running unusually high turnover.
The effort was under way in June and included conversations with senior senators about whether the administration's picks could be confirmed, two of the sources said. One said the review was still going on as of late August.
All three sources said no decision has been made to remove Feinberg. They did not say why the White House was looking, and did not name the candidates.
Both the White House and the Pentagon deny it is happening. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Reuters that Feinberg has his full support and "isn't going anywhere."
Who Feinberg Is
Feinberg is the billionaire co-founder of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, appointed by President Trump last year. His exit would be the most senior staff change yet at a department that has already lost Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Navy Secretary John Phelan and several senior Army leaders.
Timeline
Trump appoints Steve Feinberg, co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, as deputy secretary of defense. He vows to accelerate U.S. munitions production and moves to reshape the Pentagon through direct investment in companies and loans to contractors, including via the Office of Strategic Capital and the newly created Economic Defense Unit.
The White House review of potential replacements is under way, according to two of Reuters' sources, including talks with senior senators about confirmation prospects. Reuters could not determine when the review began.
Feinberg sends a memo to defense firms, seen by Reuters, calling on contractors to speed up production and provide more transparency around pricing. The Pentagon did not respond to a question about the memo.
The review is still going on, one source told Reuters.
In an exchange with Trump at Camp David, Hegseth blamed Feinberg for letting stockpiles of long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors shrink, according to the Washington Post. The White House called that report "fake news."
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after months of tension with Hegseth, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Army has declined to comment on the reasons for his departure.
Reuters publishes the report that the White House has reviewed replacement candidates. The Pentagon denies a replacement process is under way.
Reactions
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly dismissed the reporting outright: "These so-called anonymous 'sources' have no idea what they are talking about."
Kelly added that "President Trump appreciates the work of Secretary Hegseth, Deputy Secretary Feinberg, and the entire Department of War, whose record of success in Operation Epic Fury, Operation Absolute Resolve, and Operation Midnight Hammer speaks for itself" — a reference to U.S. military operations in Iran and Venezuela.
Hegseth backed his deputy in a statement to Reuters, saying Feinberg "has worked tirelessly to rebuild our Defense Industrial Base and ensure our military has everything it needs to win, and I look forward to continuing to work with him." He added: "He's doing a tremendous job for President Trump, for the Department, and for our warfighters."
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected the Camp David account: "Secretary Hegseth did not mislead anyone about our munitions posture, and he did not blame Deputy Secretary Feinberg."
The Pentagon did not provide a comment from Feinberg and declined to make him available for an interview.
What's Next
No replacement has been chosen and no decision has been made to remove Feinberg, according to Reuters' sources — so the immediate question is whether the review that was active in late August produces a nominee. Any pick would need Senate confirmation, which is why the White House was already sounding out senior senators.
Feinberg's core assignment — ramping up munitions production — remains unmet, and analysts say the U.S. industrial base cannot scale quickly. Defense executives say the slow pace of congressional appropriations has compounded the problem, which puts the next funding decisions on Capitol Hill squarely in play.
Watch also for further fallout from the departures of Driscoll and Phelan, and for Senator Elizabeth Warren's continued scrutiny of Cerberus and the Golden Dome program.
More
The backdrop is the six-month-old Iran war, which Reuters describes as having settled into a costly standoff. Trump has increasingly expressed frustration with the lack of progress.
One cost has been a drawdown of U.S. weapons stockpiles. Reuters has reported that the military faces significant shortages of certain munitions, alarming Congress and military leaders. Trump has dismissed those concerns, saying the U.S. has "far more munitions than anyone in the world."
The Cerberus Question
On Capitol Hill, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns about whether Feinberg's former firm, Cerberus, could benefit from Pentagon spending on the Golden Dome missile defense program. Parnell said there are "no conflicts of interest," adding that Feinberg "has completely divested from Cerberus and has recused himself from any conversations or business relationships between the Executive Branch and Cerberus." Cerberus did not respond to a request for comment.
Poll
Should Steve Feinberg stay on as deputy defense secretary?
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