'Ratings Gold': FOX News 'Ready to Welcome Back' Defense Boss Pete Hegseth — If Trump Fires Him After Latest Security Bungle
Pete Hegseth has been accused of plagiarism on his senior thesis.
April 22 2025, Published 11:53 a.m. ET
Fox News is "ready to welcome" Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth back with open arms.
Hegseth may be on shaky ground in Washington, but TV insiders say the network is already plotting his comeback – and ready to hand him a major upgrade from his old weekend slot, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
A source claimed Fox would take back the Defense Secretary and give him a prime-time role due to his grown fame.
President Trump recently defended Hegseth, saying he's 'doing a great job.'
The update comes as whispers of a replacement have grown louder, with NPR reporting the White House has discreetly kicked off the search to replace Hegseth – despite vocal support from President Trump and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
An anonymous U.S. official reportedly told NPR: "The White House has begun the process of looking for a new Secretary of Defense," though the person wasn't cleared to speak on the matter publicly.
Behind the scenes, the heat has been intensifying.
A scathing op-ed from a former Pentagon insider blasted Hegseth for overseeing "total chaos," while additional reports surfaced revealing he shared classified strike details with family members via a private Signal chat.
A source revealed Hegseth used the Signal app on his personal phone to share the detailed information about airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, providing minute-by-minute updates.
This occurred around the same time in March he shared similar details with top White House officials in a separate Signal chat group, which mistakenly included a journalist.
That leak, just hours before the airstrikes, could have put U.S. pilots at risk if adversaries intercepted the information about the timing of the strikes.
The former Fox News host has been embroiled in controversies.
However, despite the controversy, TV insiders are already envisioning a potential comeback for him.
A former FOX producer said: "He's still a hero to the MAGA base. Put him in primetime and watch the numbers skyrocket."
Insiders at Fox News say there’s growing speculation about promoting Hegseth to a prime-time position if he's removed from the Trump administration, potentially shaking up the conservative media landscape.
A network exec said: "The calculus is simple. If Trump doesn’t want him in the Pentagon, he could have a far louder megaphone at Fox."
In the midst of it all, Hegseth is reportedly "rattled but defiant," telling those close to him he has "nothing to apologize for" and claiming the leaks are politically driven.
On Monday, Leavitt denied any effort to replace Hegseth on X, saying President Trump "stands strongly" behind him.
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The current president has had his fair share of drama with porn stars, including his controversy with film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump also expressed support for Hegseth, dismissing concerns over the Signal leaks as a "waste of time," adding: "He's doing a great job — ask the Houthis how he's doing."
Hegseth, meanwhile, denied any wrongdoing during a White House Easter event, stating: "This is what the media does, they take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people, ruin their reputation. It's not going to work with me."
