'Outside forces want Steve gone': Hegseth explodes over report targeting Trump's Pentagon deputy

WASHINGTON, DC: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday, September 5, strongly defended Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg after a Reuters report said the White House had reviewed potential candidates who could replace him.

Hegseth dismissed the report as false and argued that “outside forces” were trying to push Feinberg out because of his efforts to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda at the Pentagon.

Pete Hegseth backs Steve Feinberg

Hegseth delivered his response on X, making clear that he has no reservations about Feinberg’s performance.

“The Department of War has never had a better Deputy Secretary than Steve Feinberg,” Hegseth wrote.

He followed that endorsement by directly rejecting the claims circulating about Feinberg’s future.

“Stories like these are COMPLETELY false,” Hegseth said.

The defense secretary then offered his own explanation for the speculation, pointing to companies that he said Feinberg has been pressuring to deliver results.

“Outside forces (ie companies he is pressing for results!) want Steve gone because he is so effective in advancing President Trump's agenda,” Hegseth wrote, calling Feinberg’s leadership “HISTORIC.”

Report claims White House looked at successors

Hegseth’s remarks followed a Reuters report published Friday alleging that the White House had been looking into potential successors to Feinberg.

The report, which cited three people familiar with the discussions, said the administration had also spoken with senior Senate lawmakers about whether potential nominees could secure enough support for confirmation.

But Reuters did not report that Trump had decided to oust Feinberg.

It also offered no explanation for why the administration was weighing possible alternatives, nor did it disclose the identities of anyone who may have been discussed.

The White House quickly pushed back on the report.

“These so-called anonymous ‘sources’ have no idea what they are talking about,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly reportedly said.

Feinberg, meanwhile, remains closely involved in a key Trump administration defense push: rebuilding the US defense industrial base and ramping up domestic munitions production.

Hegseth has repeatedly backed that mission, including in comments cited by Reuters in which he praised Feinberg’s role.

“He’s doing a tremendous job for President Trump, for the Department, and for our warfighters,” Hegseth said, after crediting Feinberg with working “tirelessly to rebuild our Defense Industrial Base” and ensure the US military has the supplies it needs.

That made the Reuters report particularly notable, given Feinberg’s prominent role in one of the administration’s central defense priorities.

Hegseth’s forceful response, however, was aimed squarely at quashing the speculation while making clear that he continues to view Feinberg as a key player in Trump’s Pentagon agenda.