WASHINGTON (AP) — The infighting and backstabbing that plagued President Donald Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty.
The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out top advisers and faces fresh controversy over sharing sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen outside of classified channels. A former Pentagon spokesperson who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire Hegseth for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown."
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White House trade adviser Peter Navarro listens as President Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (unseen) in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Washington, as Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump waves as he returns to the White House, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Hegseth lashed out on Tuesday on Fox News Channel, where he was a weekend host before joining Trump's administration, by faulting the people who used to work for him.
“Those folks who were leaking, who have been pushed out of the building, are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president’s agenda," he said.
The interpersonal drama is not — at least yet — a dominant plot line of Trump's return to the White House. But its reemergence after a period of relative discipline in his ranks reflects a turbulent management style that has been suppressed or papered over, not reformed.
Trump's national security team was recently rattled by an Oval Office visit from Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who has been questioning his staff's trustworthiness. The Republican president fired some of the officials, emboldening Loomer to continue scrutinizing people across the administration.
In an interview with independent journalist Tara Palmeri released on Monday, Loomer mocked the idea that the White House is “one big happy family.”
“The advisers don’t get along with each other,” she said. “The heads of agencies don’t get along with each other.”
Much of the tension is connected to Trump's determination to use tariffs to rebalance the global economy, with officials often contradicting each other and occasionally turning to insults. Trump adviser Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur whose companies could suffer from higher costs brought on by import taxes, sharply criticized Peter Navarro, Trump's top counselor on trade, as “dumber than a sack of bricks."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the idea of growing dissension within the administration, saying there are “far more examples of the president's team working together enthusiastically and collaboratively to advance the administration's goals.”
“The numbers and results of this administration speak for themselves,” she said. “The president and his team are getting work done.”
Trump has always had a high tolerance for chaos, shunning traditional policy deliberations to entertain divergent opinions and viewing unpredictability as a negotiating tool. He’s spent years fostering a competitive atmosphere among his staff members, who are often chosen for their devotion and penchant for aggression.
But now the increasing strife underscores the risks for more turmoil in the months ahead, as Trump presses forward with a dramatic overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, international trade, foreign policy and more.
John Bolton, who served as national security adviser in Trump’s first term before writing a tell-all book critical of the president’s inner circle, said the drama reflects the lack of a consistent ideology and the inexperience of many administration officials.
“The only thing they have in common is the belief that they should show personal fealty to Trump,” Bolton said. “That got them the job. That may in fact keep them in the job. But it shows how fundamentally unserious they are.”
The situation is a test for Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, who helped run Trump's presidential campaign last year. She earned a reputation for imposing an unusual level of order on Trump's chaotic orbit — though she carefully avoided trying to control Trump or his impulses — and he praised her as “the ice maiden.”
During Trump's first term, he had four chiefs of staff — one of them serving in an acting capacity for more than a year. The second, former U.S. Marine Gen. John Kelly, became a sharp critic of the president after he left the job, describing him as a fascist during the 2024 election.
With his new administration, Trump has surrounded himself with loyalists, and he's been reluctant to throw anyone overboard in response to negative coverage from the mainstream media, which he considers to be an enemy. Allies say the hesitance to make personnel changes in this term is meant to deny giving a win to critics, even if it means leaving troubled officials in place.
On Monday, the president brushed off reports that Hegseth participated in a second group chat to talk about pending airstrikes in Yemen last month. The first chat, which used the encrypted messaging application Signal, involved top administration officials as well as the editor of The Atlantic, who was accidentally included in the discussion.
The second, first reported by The New York Times on Sunday, included Hegseth's wife, who does not have a government job, and his brother and his personal lawyer, both of whom work at the Pentagon.
“Same old stuff,” Trump said when reporters questioned him about it during the White House Easter egg roll. He said Hegseth is “doing a great job” and "it’s just fake news.”
Leavitt, in an appearance on Fox News Channel, defended Hegseth with a swipe at the people who work for him.
“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and against the monumental change that you are trying to implement," she said. Leavitt's comment was shared by an official Defense Department social media account.
However, some of those speaking out were among Hegseth’s top advisers.
John Ullyot, who served as a Pentagon spokesperson until he was asked to resign, wrote in Politico that “it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.” He added that “the president deserves better” and “many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly” if Hegseth is fired.
The disorder extends through the Pentagon's senior ranks. Three officials — Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick — were recently pushed out, and they issued a statement saying people “have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.”
Hegseth did not deny the reports about his use of Signal. But he added: “What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out."
Trump’s tariff plans have also been a source of stress inside the administration, often leading to mixed messages and policy confusion. Navarro insisted there weren't going to be any negotiations, contradicting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's insistence that import taxes were about strengthening the White House's negotiating position.
The president partially retreated from his plans, but not before Navarro and Musk began openly feuding. Navarro said Musk was “protecting his own interests” by opposing tariffs, and he described Musk's electric automaker Tesla as a “car assembler” that’s dependent on importing parts from overseas.
Musk, who advises Trump on ways to downsize the federal bureaucracy, responded by saying that Navarro was “truly a moron.”
Leavitt downplayed the dispute by saying “boys will be boys.”
“We will let their public sparring continue,” she told reporters. “And you guys should all be very grateful that we have the most transparent administration in history.”
Trump often appears more interested in fealty than veracity. During part of last year's campaign, he traveled with Loomer, who has a history of making racist attacks on Trump's opponents and once claimed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were an inside job.
After Trump won, Loomer became frustrated that she wasn't allowed to help vet administration personnel. She eventually secured an Oval Office meeting with the president, bringing research on national security officials whom she believed were disloyal.
After Trump fired some of them, Loomer has continued her work. Last week, she accused Bessent of inviting a “Trump hater” to work with him on financial literacy efforts.
“I am going to personally tell President Trump and personally show him these receipts,” Loomer wrote on social media, adding “shame on” Bessent.
Musk shared her post and chimed in with his support — “troubling," he wrote.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro listens as President Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (unseen) in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Washington, as Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump waves as he returns to the White House, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
