Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against media reports and criticism from former staffers Monday while defending his handling of sensitive communications.

Hegseth made his comments at the White House Easter Egg Roll, where he addressed reports about his use of the Signal messaging app to discuss classified military operations. The controversy centers on incidents in which details about strikes against Houthi forces in Yemen were shared through the encrypted platform.

What Happened

According to reporting from The New York Times and NPR, Hegseth discussed specifics of a March military operation against Iranian-backed Houthis in a Signal conversation with family members. In a separate incident, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to a White House Signal group chat involving multiple Trump administration officials planning a strike on the militant group.

Goldberg subsequently published the full messages from the chat. White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz took responsibility for mistakenly adding the journalist to the conversation.

Hegseth’s Response

“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” Hegseth said when asked about the reporting.

He characterized the criticism as part of a broader effort to undermine his tenure at the Pentagon. “We’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war-fighters. And anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter,” Hegseth continued.

Trump’s Support

President Donald Trump reiterated his backing of Hegseth, stating the Defense Secretary “is doing a great job.” Trump also dismissed concerns about the leaked information, pointing to the operation’s success.

“There was no harm done because the attack was unbelievably successful that night,” Trump said when asked about potential security risks from the information disclosure.

White House Denial

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied an NPR report suggesting the administration was considering replacing Hegseth. She called the story “total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source.”

The White House’s official account on X also pushed back against the reporting, characterizing NPR as a “fake news propaganda machine.”

This story has been updated. CNN’s political team contributed to this report.