Credit: Matt A.J.
Rep. Don Bacon (RINO-NE) is now echoing Democrat talking points by publicly calling for President Trump to fire Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — all based on a debunked New York Times smear.
Bacon, a former Air Force general who now chairs a cybersecurity subcommittee, launched into a media-friendly tirade Monday, criticizing Hegseth’s qualifications and repeating a since-refuted NYT report that claimed Hegseth used the private Signal app to discuss classified military operations in Yemen with his family.
“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon told Politico, conveniently ignoring Hegseth’s years of frontline military service, VA reform advocacy, and deep support from veterans and conservatives across the country.
“I like him on Fox. “If it’s true that he had another [Signal] chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable,” Bacon said.
“I’m not in the White House, and I’m not going to tell the White House how to manage this … but I find it unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it if I was in charge,” Bacon continued.
“Russia and China put up thousands of people to monitor all these phone calls at the very top, and the No. 1 target besides the president … would be the secretary of Defense,” said Bacon. “Russia and China are all over his phone, and for him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right. He’s acting like he’s above the law — and that shows an amateur person.”
Bacon’s main accusation — that Hegseth used Signal to share classified mission details — has already been dismissed as baseless and fake news.
Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman, slammed the Times article in a blistering statement:
“Another day, another old story—back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda.
This time, the New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their garbage — are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article.
They relied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.
There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story. What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda.
We’ve already achieved so much for the American warfighter, and will never back down.”
Meanwhile, President Trump had the perfect response to a reporter asking if he still has confidence in Pete Hegseth after the latest Signal chat leak.
“It’s just fake news,” President Trump said to reporter at the Easter Egg Roll. “You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that’s what he’s doing. You don’t always have friends when you do that.”
“He is doing a great job … Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump said, referring to the US strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
Bacon’s betrayal exposes him as a RINO in patriot’s clothing, more interested in currying favor with the establishment than supporting Trump’s America First agenda. His rush to judgment over a fabricated Signal chat scandal proves he’s either gullible or complicit in the left’s efforts to kneecap Hegseth.
Representative Don Bacon is up for re-election in 2026. He has declared his candidacy for the U.S. House to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District in the upcoming election scheduled for November 3, 2026.
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