As chaos brews within the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security expert Steven Bucci joined Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson to weigh in on the fallout—and what it means for American military leadership and global stability.
Recent reports suggest that Hegseth shared sensitive operational information in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, lawyer, and brother. According to CNN and unnamed insiders, the leak occurred during or after his rocky confirmation process. The controversy comes amid a wave of staff resignations from Hegseth’s team, including his press secretary, deputy chief of staff, and senior advisers.
Bucci, a retired Army Special Forces officer and former top Pentagon official, urged caution before drawing conclusions, but made clear the stakes are high.
“If this Signal thread continued after the first leak, then that’s a big deal,” Bucci said. “If I were President Trump and my defense secretary ignored the security warning, I’d be seriously considering his removal.”
Bucci added that the decision ultimately lies with the president, and political attacks from outlets like CNN and The Atlantic are not enough to determine a dismissal. Still, he acknowledged that the mass exodus of Hegseth’s inner circle raises serious questions about his leadership and judgment.
“The only opinion that really matters here is the president’s,” Bucci said. “But if this is a pattern of reckless behavior and he’s just shifting blame, then that’s a leadership failure.”
A Trump spokesperson has defended Hegseth, stating that no classified information was shared. But critics say that even if nothing illegal occurred, sharing sensitive plans with individuals outside the proper chain of command is a major breach of protocol.
“Sharing operational plans in a casual chat, even with family, is unacceptable,” Bucci said. “If it’s true, it’s bad judgment at best and gross negligence at worst.”
Ukraine at a Crossroads
The conversation then turned to Ukraine, where President Zelensky says a so-called Easter truce announced by Vladimir Putin turned out to be anything but. According to Ukrainian reports, there were nearly 400 shellings and dozens of assaults over the holiday weekend, contradicting any notion of a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, there are growing concerns that the U.S. may reduce or withdraw support for Ukraine if peace negotiations do not show meaningful progress soon. Bucci warned that would be a mistake.
“This is a precarious time,” he said. “Putin is not a good-faith negotiator. We’ve seen this from Bush to Obama to Trump—every president thinks they can deal with him. None have succeeded.”
Bucci argued that while there is room for compromise in the contested Donbas region and Crimea, allowing Russia to capture Kyiv and take full control of Ukraine would be catastrophic for the West.
“If Kyiv falls, it’s not just Ukraine that suffers. It emboldens Russia and threatens the balance of power in Europe,” he said. “That’s not in America’s interest, and it’s certainly not in NATO’s.”
He expressed hope that President Trump, if reelected, would reevaluate his current hesitation to fund Ukraine’s defense.
“Trump wants the killing to stop, and so do I,” Bucci said. “But if Putin continues his aggression and we walk away, we’ll regret it. At some point, we have to ask ourselves: Are we willing to let a hostile power redraw the map of Europe by force?”