I Was a Top Advisor to Pete Hegseth. He's More Focused on Photo Ops Than Leadership, According to Defense Secretary's One-Time Ally
Pete Hegseth's former top aide opened up about how the defense secretary is too worried about snagging a photo op.
April 29 2025, Published 1:59 p.m. ET
Pete Hegseth's more focused on staging photo ops than taking real action, according to an inside player.
RadarOnline.com can reveal a former top aide to Hegseth has blasted the Pentagon, accusing its leadership of being consumed by paranoia and ditching real leadership – just the latest bombshell in a growing list of scathing attacks on the Defense Department.
Colin Carroll claimed Hegseth spent half his time hunting leaks instead of focusing on real defense matters.
Colin Carroll, freshly fired as chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, dropped bombshells on the Megyn Kelly podcast – claiming Hegseth was obsessed with hunting down leaks, wasting half his time on witch hunts instead of handling real defense business.
Carroll, who was let go during a leak investigation, explained: "He was very focused on the leaks, and I think it kind of consumed the team a little bit.
"If you look at a pie chart of the secretary's day, at this point, 50 percent of it is probably a leak investigation."
Hegseth has shot down rumors he has a wild side, specifically in regards to heavy drinking and being undisciplined.
His dismissal followed a brutal clash among Hegseth's top advisers, including Joe Kasper, his former chief of staff.
Hegseth's senior adviser, Dan Caldwell, and deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick, were also let go during the leak probe. Kasper exited the department just last week.
Carroll went on to paint a picture of a secretary obsessed with his public image of power and control.
Hegseth's team regularly films his early morning workouts with the troops, a move Carroll claimed is a clear attempt to squash rumors of his wild side – like being undisciplined and a heavy drinker – rumors that had followed him during his confirmation hearing.
The defense secretary, of course, quickly shot them down at the time.
Carroll explained: "In order to combat that image, it’s 'hey, I’m gonna go work out with the troops.'
"While that is important, and it's a thing to do to get out there and helps recruiting and helps morale, if you're taking a half day trip to the Naval Academy at the same time the budget is due, and we really need some support here… come on, you gotta weigh priorities."
Pentagon mouthpiece Sean Parnell fired back at the backlash, touting a troop surge at the southern border, bombings in Yemen, and scrapped DOGE contracts as proof Hegseth is shaking things up.
He said: "Secretary Hegseth has delivered more change to the DOD in 100 days than most secretaries have in four years," he bragged, while the media "focuses on gossip, we're focused on results."
The fired aide painted a dramatic "tale of two Petes" – one, a sharp-tongued dealmaker who could win over Republicans on defense cash, the other, a jittery boss obsessed with bizarre details and prone to heated blowups behind closed doors.
Carroll claimed Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg personally assured him his job was safe, even after the purge of top staffers.
Now, Carroll says he's eager to make a comeback at the Pentagon to work alongside Feinberg.
President Donald Trump is still on Hegseth's side despite all the scrutiny against the defense secretary.
Meanwhile, with his inner circle gutted, Hegseth is leaning on a tight-knit crew that includes his wife Jennifer, his personal lawyer and a former low-level military aide.
The Pentagon rolled out three fresh faces to Hegseth's shrinking advisory team on Thursday: Col. Ricky Buria, his former military sidekick; Justin Fulcher, a tech entrepreneur and DOGE insider; and Patrick Weaver, a Trump-era DHS and Capitol Hill alum with zero Pentagon experience.
President Trump, in a Monday tell-all with The Atlantic, made it clear he's keeping a sharp eye on the chaos swirling around Hegseth's crew.
He said of Hegseth: "He’s gonna get it together. I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him."
After Trump's comment on Hegseth, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was put on the spot by a reporter who asked: "Does (Trump) think Hegseth doesn't 'have it together' right now?"
Leavitt responded: "The president has made his position on Secretary Hegseth quite clear.
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"He absolutely has confidence in the secretary's ability to lead the Pentagon, it's why he nominated him for this position."
She added: "He's going to remain focused on standing up for our warfighters, on implementing President Trump's peace through strength foreign policy agenda abroad and the president supports him in his role."
Hegseth is leaning on a tight-knit crew that includes his wife Jennifer, his personal lawyer, and a former low-level military aide.
At the White House Easter Egg Roll earlier this month, Trump also said: "He's doing a great job. It's just fake news. They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees.
"He was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's what he's doing, so you don't always have friends when you do that."
The president further suggested: "Ask the Houthis how much dysfunction there is. There's none. Pete's doing a great job. Everybody's happy with him."
