Pete Hegseth may be facing his most dangerous problem yet inside the Pentagon.
Not Iran.
Not Congress.
Not another leaked chat.
His own colleagues.
A new account from longtime Donald Trump biographer Michael Wolff claims frustration with the Defense Secretary has become so intense that officials inside the Pentagon and White House are leaking damaging stories in an effort to force him out.
Wolff describes what he calls a “growing rear-guard rebellion” against Hegseth, fueled by anger over his leadership, internal behavior and the unusually prominent role allegedly played by his wife, Jennifer.
According to Wolff, the campaign has even reached Trump’s closest advisers.
“In the White House, the president’s closest circle of advisors believe Hegseth needs to be fired,” he wrote.
Then came the crucial complication.
Trump apparently does not agree.
Wolff claims Hegseth has effectively lost support almost everywhere around the administration — with one enormous exception.
The president himself.
That distinction may explain why Hegseth has survived a turbulent first year and a half at the Pentagon despite controversy after controversy.
His confirmation was difficult from the beginning.
The Senate deadlocked 50-50 on Hegseth’s nomination, requiring Vice President JD Vance to cast the deciding vote.
Since then, his tenure has been marked by repeated battles over management, leaks and the boundaries between his personal circle and official Pentagon business.
Perhaps the most damaging early scandal involved a Signal chat in which sensitive military planning was discussed among senior administration officials.
Hegseth survived.
Then came growing concern over the role played by his wife.
More than 20 current and former Defense Department officials told The New York Times last month that Jennifer Hegseth had become deeply involved in her husband’s work, including participating in conversations about personnel and reportedly interviewing candidates for Pentagon jobs.
Wolff goes even further, alleging that some insiders view her as an unofficial second-in-command.
Those claims have become part of the steady stream of stories now leaking from the department.
The Pentagon strongly disputes Wolff’s broader account.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez dismissed the biographer as unreliable and accused him of writing politically motivated fiction.
That response is important because Wolff has long been a deeply controversial chronicler of Trump’s orbit, relying heavily on anonymous insiders and accounts that Trump allies routinely dispute.
But Hegseth’s internal critics are not limited to Wolff.
Reports of discontent inside the Defense Department have accumulated over months.
Even the nicknames are becoming part of the story.
Wolff previously wrote that late Fox News chief Roger Ailes privately called Hegseth “Colonel Vodka,” a reference to Hegseth’s repeated discussions of his National Guard service and, according to Wolff, his reputation for drinking.
The nickname is an allegation from Wolff’s reporting, not an official characterization of Hegseth.
More recently, another mocking label reportedly began circulating inside military circles: “No Tab Pete.”
The reference is to elite Army qualification tabs — including Ranger and Sapper — worn by soldiers who complete specialized training.
Hegseth served in the Army National Guard and deployed overseas, but did not earn those particular qualifications.
Critics have used the nickname to question the gap between his military image and his professional background.
Hegseth’s supporters see the criticism differently.
They argue that much of the hostility comes from a Pentagon bureaucracy resistant to the sweeping cultural and political changes he was specifically appointed to implement.
Trump chose Hegseth precisely because he wanted a Defense Secretary willing to aggressively dismantle diversity initiatives, challenge senior military leadership and align the department more closely with his administration’s priorities.
That loyalty may be Hegseth’s greatest protection.
Wolff argues that Trump learned a lesson from his first term after clashing repeatedly with former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, frequently challenged Trump’s instincts and eventually resigned after disputes over military policy.
Hegseth represented almost the opposite model.
Rather than hiring another Pentagon heavyweight with an independent power base, Trump selected a former Fox News personality and National Guard officer who was already publicly aligned with his political worldview.
Wolff argues that this was not an accident.
In his telling, Trump valued loyalty and ideological compatibility more than traditional Pentagon credentials.
That dynamic could now be shielding Hegseth from people who want him gone.
And the stakes have become far higher since the United States entered a prolonged conflict with Iran.
The war has already stretched far beyond early predictions and placed enormous pressure on American forces, air defenses and military stockpiles.
That means Hegseth is no longer merely overseeing debates about Pentagon culture.
He is managing an active regional war.
Critics inside the administration reportedly worry that this makes instability at the top of the Defense Department especially dangerous.
Yet Trump has repeatedly shown that internal pressure alone does not necessarily force him to abandon an ally.
In fact, public attacks can sometimes have the opposite effect.
If Trump concludes that Hegseth is being targeted by the same military establishment and media institutions he distrusts, attempts to weaken the Defense Secretary could actually strengthen the president’s attachment to him.
That leaves Hegseth in an unusual position.
He may have enemies throughout the Pentagon.
He may be the subject of damaging leaks.
Some White House aides may reportedly want him fired immediately.
But in Trump’s Washington, one person’s support matters more than all the others combined.
And as long as Donald Trump remains in Hegseth’s corner, the rebellion surrounding the Defense Secretary may have reached its biggest obstacle before it even began.
