The commander of Fort McCoy was relieved of duty after the U.S. Army base failed to install photos of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a wall displaying their chain of command. 

Col.  Sheyla Baez Ramirez was suspended as garrison commander of Ft. McCoy in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. ‘This suspension is not related to any misconduct,’ the U.S. Army Reserve Command said in a statement, ‘We have no further details to provide at this time while this matter is under review.’

Hegseth on Sunday reposted an X post claiming: ‘Commander of Fort McCoy, whose base chain-of-command board was missing photos of Trump, Vance and Hegseth, has been SUSPENDED.’

It came after the Defense Department (DOD) announced a probe into why a wall displaying the chain of command had empty frames on the wall where Trump, Vance and Hegseth’s images would typically be displayed. 

A new image they posted of the wall showed the frames had been filled. 

‘Regarding the Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy…. WE FIXED IT! Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened,’ the department’s rapid response account posted on X. 

Ramirez assumed the garrison commander role in ​​July of last year. 

Previously, she had served as chief of the Reserve Program, United States Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and in other roles throughout the Army and Army Reserves.

The move came after a series of leadership shake-ups across the U.S. military. Earlier this month, the Pentagon fired the base commander for Pituffik Space Force Base in Greenland after she ‘undermined’ Vance. 

After the vice president’s visit, Col. Susannah Meyers emailed base personnel on March 31, writing, ‘I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.’

She added that she had ‘spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you.’ 

The Space Force said in a public statement Meyers had been relieved of command ‘due to loss of confidence in her ability to lead.’ 

‘Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,’ the statement read. 

And Hegseth fired four former aides after in-fighting and a leak investigation came to a head late last week. 

The secretary blamed ‘disgruntled employees’ for leaking reports about a second Signal chat that discussed Houthi strikes, this one including his wife, brother and personal lawyer on the chain.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s announcement that REAL IDs will be required to fly starting May 7 has forced Americans to finally get compliant – 20 years after Congress passed the law. 

On May 11, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the REAL ID Act into law to enhance national security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Passed by the U.S. Congress, the act set federal standards for issuing identification cards, like driver’s licenses.

Starting next month, REAL ID will be required to access federal facilities, enter nuclear power plants and board commercial aircraft. REAL ID’s rollout has faced nearly two decades of political pushback, setbacks and delays. 

In the two years after it was passed, the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) called for delaying its implementation, citing logistical concerns. 

Since its passing, states and advocacy groups have rejected its implementation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – a longtime opponent of REAL ID implementation – called it ‘discriminatory, expensive, burdensome, invasive, and ultimately counterproductive’ in 2007 as disapproval grew nationwide. By 2009, at least 25 states had enacted legislation opposing the REAL ID Act.

States rejected REAL ID for a range of reasons, including costs, states’ rights and privacy concerns. Three years after the law was passed, REAL ID’s first deadline was set for May 11, 2008. But in the face of opposition, DHS extended the deadline to May 11, 2011, under President Barack Obama’s administration. 

DHS later implemented a four-phase plan that extended beyond the 2011 deadline. By 2016, 23 states were fully compliant with the REAL ID Act, 27 states and territories were granted extensions, and six were noncompliant without extensions, according to a DHS letter. 

By Jan. 22, 2018, travelers would no longer be allowed to use a state-issued ID for domestic travel, and by Oct. 1, 2020, REAL ID ‘or another acceptable form of identification’ would be required for domestic air travel. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump extended the REAL ID deadline to Oct. 1, 2021. That deadline was later extended to May 3, 2023, by President Joe Biden’s administration ‘due to circumstances resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.’

The Biden administration finally extended the deadline to May 7, 2025, to give states ‘additional time to ensure their residents have driver’s licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established by the REAL ID Act.’

Noem announced the May 7, 2025, deadline would hold as the Trump administration seeks to prevent illegal immigrants from traveling within the United States.

‘Starting May 7, you will need a REAL ID to fly. REAL IDs make identification harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists. If you plan to fly, make sure you get a REAL ID so you won’t be denied from your flight or face travel delays!’ Noem said. 

The State Department is pushing back against criticism of its changes to the process of reporting human rights abuses. 

NPR reported last week that the Trump administration was scaling back annual reports meant to inform congressional decisions on allocating foreign aid to countries, claiming the State Department was ‘changing its mind on what it calls human rights.’ 

Fox News Digital is told the 2024 Human Rights Report has been restructured to remove redundancy, increase readability, and return the focus to human rights abuses – instead of a ‘laundry list of politically biased demands and assertions.’ 

‘NPR’s report that the State Department is scaling back the Human Rights Report is misleading and misguided,’ a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. ‘This year’s modifications are critical for removing report redundancy, increasing readability, maintaining consistency to U.S. statutes, and returning focus to human rights issues rather than political bias.’

Fox News Digital is told the restructuring of the reports ‘will be more responsive to legislative mandates that underpin the report’ and ‘does not reflect a change in U.S. policy on promoting respect for human rights around the globe or in any particular country.’ The State Department notably has attempted to streamline the reports to better align with statutory requirements under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

NPR and Politico reported on an internal memo that purportedly showed the 2024 Human Rights Report, which was finished in January but has been adjusted under the new administration, will no longer include references to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or sections on discrimination or abuse against the LGBTQ+ community. 

The annual reports – known as ‘Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ – normally come out in March or April. NPR said sections that called out countries for ‘forcibly returning a refugee or asylum-seeker to a home country’ or the ‘serious harassment of human rights organizations’ would be absent this year. NPR also stressed that prior reports had sections detailing countries’ ‘involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices,’ ‘arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy,’ ‘serious restrictions to internet freedom,’ ‘extensive gender-based violence,’ and ‘violence or threats of violence targeting people with disabilities,’ but the new report would not.

Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International, USA, criticized the changes under the Trump administration. He told NPR: ‘What this is, is a signal that the United States is no longer going to [pressure] other countries to uphold those rights that guarantee civic and political freedoms – the ability to speak, to express yourself, to gather, to protest, to organize.’ 

During President Donald Trump’s first term, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited what he categorized as a ‘proliferation of human rights’ on the global stage. 

‘We wanted to go back to first principles, back to our founding documents, our Declaration of Independence, our Bill of Rights to focus on those things that are central to the understanding of rights here in America,’ he said in July 2020. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is overseeing changes at the department during Trump’s second term. Last week, he announced the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which he accused of costing taxpayers more than $50 million per year and spending ‘millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.’ 

U.S. presidents mourned the death of Pope Francis, who served as the leader of the Catholic Church for 12 years, on Monday following the Vatican’s announcement of the pope’s passing. 

‘Rest in Peace Pope Francis!’ President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. ‘May God Bless him and all who loved him!’

The College of Cardinals elected Pope Francis, 88, to serve as the pope following Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013. His election marked the first time a non-European served as pope in more than 1,000 years. Pope Francis, born with the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio, originally hailed from Argentina. 

Pope Francis, who was hospitalized in February due to complications stemming from bronchitis and pneumonia, died Monday at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. 

Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with Pope Francis on Sunday in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel just hours before the pope’s death. Vance acknowledged the visit in a post on X Monday while expressing his condolences to Christians who loved the pope, and shared a link to the transcript of one of the pope’s 2020 homilies. 

‘My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,’ Vance said in a post on X on Monday. ‘But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.’

Trump also signed an executive order Monday ordering all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels to remember Francis. The order also applies to all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

Here’s a look at Pope Francis’ legacy with other U.S. leaders:

Barack Obama

Pope Francis met with former President Barack Obama at the Vatican in March 2014. The two met again in September of the following year during Pope Francis’ visit to the White House, where the pope delivered a statement urging action on climate change. Following his visit to the White House, Francis also visited New York City and Philadelphia. 

Obama issued a statement Monday morning lauding the pope for his leadership. 

‘In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound – embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another,’ Obama said in a post on X Monday morning. 

‘Today, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope’s example,’ Obama said. ‘May we continue to heed his call to ‘never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.’’

Donald Trump

Trump met with Pope Francis in 2017 during a trip to the Vatican, and told reporters later that they had a ‘fantastic meeting.’ However, the two remained at odds with one another over Trump’s border policies for the last decade. 

‘A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,’ Pope Francis said in February 2016 amid Trump’s push on the campaign trail to build a border wall and crack down on illegal immigration. 

In response, Trump said: ‘For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful.’

Pope Francis routinely issued similar statements, and in February penned a letter to U.S. Catholic bishops and voiced concern about the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. 

‘The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,’ Pope Francis said in the letter. 

Joe Biden

Former President Joe Biden, the second Catholic U.S. president, visited the Vatican in October 2021, where he and Pope Francis met to discuss topics including climate change and advocacy for the poor, according to a readout of the meeting. 

Biden had previously met Pope Francis on several other occasions, including during the pope’s visit to the U.S. in 2015. 

Biden also met with Pope Francis in June at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia, Italy, where the two discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to a readout of the meeting. 

Biden, who awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January, described him as a ‘consequential’ leader on Monday who was a ‘Pope for everyone.’ 

‘He was unlike any who came before him,’ Biden said in a post on X Monday morning. ‘Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him. For decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his mission of serving the poor never ceased. As Pope, he was a loving pastor and challenging teacher who reached out to different faiths.’

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump is turning his attention to the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which is leagues behind its near-peer competitor China, and recently signed an executive order designed to reinvigorate it. 

Trump’s April 10 order instructs agencies to develop a Maritime Action Plan and orders the U.S. trade representative to compile a list of recommendations to address China’s ‘anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry,’ among other things.

Additionally, the executive order instructs a series of assessments regarding how the government could bolster financial support through the Defense Production Act, the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital, a new Maritime Security Trust Fund, investment from shipbuilders from allied countries and other grant programs. 

But simply throwing money at the shipbuilding industry won’t solve the problem, according to Bryan Clark, director of the Hudson Institute think tank’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology.

‘It is unlikely that just putting more money into U.S. shipbuilding – even with foreign technical assistance – will make U.S. commercial shipbuilders competitive with experienced and highly-subsidized shipyards in China, Korea, or Japan,’ Clark said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. ‘In the near to mid-term, the government will need to also drive higher demand for U.S.-built ships.’

Clark also said the executive orders appear to complement the SHIPS for America Act, a series of legislative measures introduced in December 2024 in both the House and Senate aimed at fostering growth within the U.S. shipbuilding industry and strengthening the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet that is capable of transporting military materials during times of conflict. 

Specifically, the SHIPS Act includes provisions establishing a Strategic Commercial Fleet Program, which would seek to develop merchant vessels that could operate internationally, but are American-built, owned and operated. The legislation would also seek to beef up the U.S.-flag international fleet by roughly 250 ships in 10 years. 

‘If we implement the EO and the SHIPS Act together, the government would create incentives to flag and build ships in the U.S. and provide capital to the shipbuilding industry so it could meet the increased demand with greater efficiency and lower costs,’ Clark said. ‘This will not result in the U.S. surpassing China, Korea or Japan as shipbuilders, but it would provide the U.S. more resilience.’

The U.S. is drastically behind near-peer competitors like China in shipbuilding. China is responsible for more than 50% of global shipbuilding, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, compared to just 0.1% from the U.S. 

However, Trump has indicated interest in working with other nations on shipbuilding, and suggested working with Congress to pass legislation authorizing the purchase of ships from foreign countries when signing the orders. Specifics were not provided. 

But doing so could upend a century-old law known as the Jones Act – a controversial law fundamental to the current U.S. shipbuilding environment that requires that only U.S. ships carry cargo between U.S. ports and stipulates that at least 75% of the crew members are American citizens. It also requires that these ships are built in the U.S. and that U.S. citizens own them.

Proponents of the Jones Act assert it is key to national security and prevents foreigners from gaining entry to the U.S. But experts claim the law has significantly hampered U.S. shipbuilding, and is undercutting competition while keeping shipbuilding costs high. 

Efforts to repeal the legislation have failed amid bipartisan support in Congress. But some experts claim eradicating the law is a first step in changing the shipbuilding industry in the U.S. 

‘Anyone who is serious about reviving the shipping industry should basically start by getting rid of the Jones Act,’ Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, told Fox News Digital Thursday. ‘It’s not everything, but it’s a start.’ 

Colin Grabow, an associate director at the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, said shipbuilding issues in the U.S. are multifaceted, but the Jones Act is a major part of the problem. Still, he doubts efforts to repeal it will prove successful. 

‘I think the bar has been set so low, it is hard not to think that, absent the Jones Act, that we’d be doing any worse,’ Grabow said. ‘And in fact, I think we’d do better. And why do I think we’d do better? It’s because… fundamentally, I think an industry that doesn’t have to compete will become uncompetitive. I think it’s just kind of axiomatic.’ 

The U.S. and Iran have agreed to meet for a third round of talks later this week in Muscat, Oman, after they met in Italy with Omani intermediaries to discuss Iran’s nuclear program on Saturday.

Details of the negotiations have not been released and any concrete progress in ending Iran’s nuclear program remains unclear, though a senior administration official told Fox News that ‘very good progress’ had been made.

‘Today, in Rome, over four hours in our second round of talks, we made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions,’ the official said Saturday. ‘We agreed to meet again next week and are grateful to our Omani partners for facilitating these talks and to our Italian partners for hosting us today.’

Reports suggested that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at some point in the negotiations spoke face-to-face, the second time in as many weeks.

But the negotiations have not solely been ‘direct’ between Washington and Tehran as President Donald Trump earlier this month insisted they would be, which Iran flatly rejected – suggesting some form of compromise was reached regarding the format of the discussions.

What Witkoff discussed directly with his Iranian counterpart remains unknown.

Araghchi also expressed some optimism in his review of the negotiations from Italy, though his perspective appeared slightly more muted.

‘Relatively positive atmosphere in Rome has enabled progress on principles and objectives of a possible deal,’ he wrote in a post on X. ‘We made clear how many in Iran believe that the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] JCPOA is no longer good enough for us. To them, what is left from that deal are ‘lessons learned.’ Personally, I tend to agree.’ 

‘The initiation of expert level track will begin in coming days with a view to hammer out details,’ Araghchi said. ‘After that, we will be in a better position to judge. For now, optimism may be warranted but only with a great deal of caution.’

It remains unclear how this round of negotiations to end Iran’s nuclear program will differ from the original JPCOA, an Obama-era nuclear deal which Trump abandoned during his first term, though the president and other security experts have voiced a sense of urgency in finding a solution in the very near future. 

But experts have warned these talks need to be far more encompassing than the JCPOA given the current advanced state of Iran’s nuclear program, and they need to happen very soon.

‘The speed with which technical talks have been agreed to is worrying for those who hope to avoid a repeat of 2013 and 2015, as are allegations of Iran’s offer of a three-step interim or phased proposal for a deal,’ Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Behnam Ben Taleblu told Fox News Digital. 

‘It would be the height of strategic malpractice and a political own goal to allow the Islamic Republic to force America under the Trump administration into a deal that only slightly modified the accord that Trump rightly criticized and walked away from in 2018,’ he added.

Similarly, retired Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News senior strategic analyst, many security experts are watching these negotiation attempts with ‘real concern’ because ‘Iran in 2025 is not the Iran in 2015 when that first nuclear deal was made.’

‘The difference is that Iran has the capability to manufacture advanced centrifuges which can enrich uranium from zero to weapons grade in just a matter of weeks,’ Keane said.

Essentially, this means the U.S. must not only persuade Iran to get rid of its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium – enough to produce five nuclear weapons if further enriched – but also dismantle its manufacturing capabilities.

‘The other thing that is different in 2025 – they have ballistic missiles that can deliver the weapon,’ Keane added. ‘It remains to be seen what’s going to be in the deal.’

A recently departed top Pentagon aide goaded President Donald Trump to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from his Cabinet, describing ‘total chaos’ and ‘dysfunction’ within the top brass of the military. 

‘The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership,’ John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon, wrote in an op-ed for Politico published on Sunday. 

‘Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.’

Ullyot departed the Pentagon’s public affairs office last week because he did not want to be second-in-command to chief spokesperson Sean Parnell. 

On Friday, the Pentagon fired three Hegseth aides – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – three of the secretary’s ‘most loyal’ advisers, according to Ullyot. He called the purge ‘strange’ and ‘baffling.’

Following them out the door is chief of staff Joe Kasper, who the three men frequently found themselves at odds with, three defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

‘In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership.’

He called himself a ‘strong backer’ of Hegseth, but admitted: ‘The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon – and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration.’

The shake-ups came just as reports broke about a second Signal chat where Hegseth discussed plans to strike Houthis in Yemen, this one allegedly including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

That chat reportedly discussed flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen – similar information to that shared in the chat of Trump Cabinet members where national security advisor Mike Waltz unintentionally added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. 

‘Another day, another old story,’ Parnell said in a statement after the latest Signal chat reporting. ‘There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.’

‘Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama,’ Ullyot wrote. 

‘The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.’

Trump allies eviscerated Ullyot on social media after the op-ed was published. 

‘This guy is not America First,’ Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. ‘I’ve been hearing for years that he works his ass off to subvert my father’s agenda. That ends today. He’s officially exiled from our movement.’

‘If you’re echoing Democrat talking points, you no longer support President Trump or his administration. There’s no gray area here,’ added Trump advisor Jason Miller. 

The White House, meanwhile, ‘stands strongly’ behind Hegseth, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday. 

‘The President stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,’ she said. This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.’

Hegseth also brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on ‘disgruntled employees’ and ‘anonymous smears.’

‘This is why we’re fighting the fake news media,’ he said when pressed on the chat by reporters at the White House Easter Egg roll. ‘This group right here is full of hoaxsters.’

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared details of a March military airstrike against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in another Signal message chat that included his wife and brother, according to a report.

The New York Times first reported the revelation of a second Signal chat surrounding the military strike on Sunday. Those same attack plans had also been shared in another chat with top Trump administration leaders and only came to light last month because Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to the group.

The Pentagon pushed back on the story, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ‘FOX & Friends’ that President Donald Trump stands by Hegseth.

The second chat had the same warplane launch times that were included in the first chat, operational details that, if shared before a strike, could have put pilots in danger, multiple former and current officials have said.

Four people with knowledge of the second chat told the paper that Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, his brother Phil and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, were included in the chat.

Jennifer Hegseth is not a Defense Department employee, though she has traveled with her husband overseas to meetings with foreign leaders. Phil Hegseth and Parlatore are both employed by the Pentagon. It is unclear why any of them would need to be informed of any upcoming military strikes.

The second chat included 13 people, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They also confirmed the chat was dubbed ‘Defense ‘ Team Huddle.’

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell dismissed the reporting as ‘another old story—back from the dead.’

‘The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda,’ Parnell said. ‘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.’

Parnell claimed that The Times’ sources were people fired from the Pentagon last week who ‘appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.’

Parnell contended that there was no classified information in any Signal chat, a response that Hegseth previously asserted regarding the first chat.

The White House late Sunday similarly dismissed the report as a ‘non-story,’ suggesting that disgruntled former Pentagon employees were spreading false claims.

‘No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared,’ said Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary. ‘Recently-fired ‘leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.’

Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot, who announced he was resigning last week unrelated to the leaks, penned an op-ed published in Politico on Sunday that detailed what he called ‘the Month from Hell’ inside the agency.

‘President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer,’ Ullyot wrote.

He wrote that ‘the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership’ after the defense secretary ‘followed horrible crisis-communications advice from his new public affairs team’ regarding the first Signal chat.

Ullyot wrote that Trump ‘deserves better from his senior leadership.’

The first chat, set up by national security adviser Mike Waltz, included several Cabinet members. The contents of that chat, which The Atlantic published, shows that Hegseth listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen last month.

The revelation of the second chat group brought fresh criticism against Hegseth and President Donald Trump’s wider administration after it failed to take action against the top national security officials who discussed plans for the military strike in Signal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The White House hit back at recent news reports detailing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s reported involvement in a second Signal group chat where he discussed military strikes on Yemen as a ‘nonstory’ while also slamming recently fired Department of Defense staffers. 

‘No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same nonstory, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared,’ White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital Monday morning. ‘Recently fired ‘leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the president’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.’ 

Kelly’s response followed Fox News Digital inquiring about media stories Sunday reporting that Hegseth was part of another Signal group chat that allegedly included his wife, personal attorney and brother, where he discussed upcoming military strikes on Yemen. The chat was reportedly created by Hegseth, the New York Times reported Sunday, citing four people with knowledge of the chat.

The White House ‘stands strongly’ behind Hegseth, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, despite a week of dramatic high-level firings in addition to Signal chat reports. 

‘The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,’ Leavitt said on Fox News Monday. 

‘This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.’

Hegseth also brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on ‘disgruntled employees’ and ‘anonymous smears.’

‘This is why we’re fighting the fake news media,’ he said when pressed on the chat by reporters at the White House Easter Egg roll. ‘This group right here is full of hoaxsters.’

Hegseth gestured to his wife and children and said he was there to enjoy the day with them. He added that he had spoken to Trump and planned to keep fighting all the way.

The Trump administration came under scrutiny from Democrats and other critics after the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published March 24 that he was added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Hegseth, national security advisor Mike Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, discussing upcoming military strikes in Yemen. 

Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. 

The Atlantic’s report characterized the Trump administration as texting ‘war plans’ regarding a planned strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

The Trump administration has maintained, however, that no classified material was transmitted in the chat, with Trump repeatedly defending Waltz amid the fallout. The strikes on Houthi rebels unfolded on March 15. 

Leavitt told the media in March that the White House considered the Signal group chat leak case ‘closed’ while continuing to offer support to Waltz, whose office allegedly mistakenly added the journalist to the chat. 

‘As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,’ Leavitt told the media in brief remarks during a gaggle outside of the White House’s press room March 31. ‘And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.’ 

‘There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again,’ she continued. ‘And we’re moving forward. And the president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well, if you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team.’ 

Reports of a second Signal chat involving Hegseth follow highly publicized departures at the Pentagon last week following leaks. 

Top aides to Hegseth were placed on leave and escorted out of the building as the Pentagon probed unauthorized leaks: senior advisor Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg.

On Friday evening, those three employees were fired, two defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital, along with chief of staff Joe Kasper. 

Another press aide, John Ullyot, parted ways with the Pentagon because he did not want to be second-in-command of the communications shop. 

Officials denied that the three men were placed on leave because of their foreign policy views and said they saw no connection to their positions on Iran and Israel – even as reports surfaced that President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Pentagon would not intervene if Israel attacked Iran.

Ullyot notably published a scathing opinion piece in Politico Sunday predicting Hegseth would not remain as secretary of defense. 

‘It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon,’ he wrote. ‘From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership.’

‘Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account,’ he wrote. ‘Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.’

Antisemitism in Canada has exploded in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, reaching record numbers last year and becoming a central issue for the country’s Jewish community ahead of an April 28 federal election.

Last week, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, the main challenger to Prime Minister Mark Carney accused pro-Hamas protesters of staging ‘hate marches’ and vowing to deport antisemitic foreigners from Canada.

‘The rampaging chaos that we see in our streets, the targeting of synagogues and Jewish schools with hate, vandalism, violence, fire bombings … these things were unheard of 10 years ago,’ Poilievre said. 

He also had a warning for foreign agitators. ‘Anyone who is here on a visitor visa who carries out lawbreaking will be deported from this country,’ Poilievre said.

‘To Canada’s Jewish community,’ Poilievre added, ‘you are not alone, you have friends. Canadians stand with you. You have the right to wear your Star of David, your kippah, and have your mezuzah on your door. You should feel proud to be Jewish and should never have to hide your Jewishness in order to stay safe.’

On Friday, Poilievre shared on X the Montreal Jewish Community Council’s call for Jewish voters to endorse him. In the video, the group’s executive director, Rabbi Saul Emanuel, referencing Poilievre’s support for the community, stated, ‘We remember who stood with us when it mattered most, and now we can all make a difference.’

Emanuel noted that Jewish voters could play a decisive role in as many as 14 districts in Canada. ‘Our vote matters, our voice matters. That’s why I am proud to support Pierre Poilievre and I urge you to do the same,’ he said.

Carney has also used social media to condemn antisemitism. In a tweet wishing Jewish Canadians a happy Passover, he condemned the growing incidents, stating in part, ‘Together, we must confront and denounce the rising tide of antisemitism, and the threat it poses to Jewish life and safety in communities across Canada.’

Yet despite his strong words against antisemitism, Carney recently faced criticism following a campaign rally in Calgary, where someone yelled at the Liberal Party leader, ‘There’s a genocide happening in Palestine.’

‘I’m aware,’ Carney replied. ‘That’s why we have an arms embargo [on Israel].’

The next day, Carney, who in March replaced longtime Premier Justin Trudeau, claimed he had not heard the anti-Israel demonstrator correctly.

His backtracking did not stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from entering the fray. He posted on X that ‘Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney.

‘But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state,’ Netanyahu posted.

According to an annual audit released this month by B’nai Brith Canada, the total number of reported cases of Jew hatred in the country hit 6,219 in 2024, a 7.4% increase over 2023 and the highest number since the survey’s inception in 1982.

Antisemitic incidents in Canada have skyrocketed by 124.6% since 2022.

‘Over the last 18 months, a new baseline has been established for antisemitism in Canada, and it’s having a detrimental effect on the lives of Jewish people,’ Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith Canada, told Fox News Digital. ‘We are seeing an increase in certain forms of antisemitism, specifically anti-Zionism.’

Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister and attorney general of Canada for the Liberal Party, told Fox News Digital ‘antisemitism has become mainstream, normalized and legitimized in the political, popular, academic, media, entertainment and sport cultures. All this happened in the absence of outrage,’ he said.

‘I hope that whichever party gets elected, we will see deliverables in combating specific hate crime, hate speech, harassment, assault, vandalism and all the things you find reported in the [B’nai Brith] annual report. From my experience, even those statistics are not telling the true story. They are underreported.’

‘The community of democracies must act because the security of our collective freedom is at stake,’ Cotler warned.

Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed told Fox News Digital many local Jews ‘feel vulnerable, unsafe and unprotected by law enforcement bodies, governments and education systems that have stood by as antisemitism reached crisis levels.’ 

He noted that Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, is obligated to act when Jews in the Diaspora are in distress.

‘Equipping teachers with the resources to teach about antisemitism and the Holocaust is essential to ensure future generations understand the dangers of hatred and continue to embrace peace, tolerance and equality,’ he added.

The antisemitism survey highlighted numerous incidents, ranging from Quebec daily La Presse publishing a cartoon depicting Netanyahu as Nosferatu, a vampire associated with Jews in Nazi-era propaganda and a pro-Hamas protester at the University of Toronto shouting at a Jewish student that Hitler should have ‘murdered all of you.’

In May, an arsonist ignited a fire at the entrance to the Schara Tzedeck Synagogue in Vancouver as prayers concluded. The same month, shots were fired at the Bais Chaya Mushka girls’ school in Toronto, and the school has since been targeted twice more by gunfire. In August, a bomb threat affected Jewish institutions across the country. In December, a firebomb struck Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal, the second such attack since Oct. 7, 2023.

Thereafter, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the Canadian government to take action to ‘stamp out’ antisemitism. 

‘The world must wake up. Words are not enough. Synagogues burned. Jews attacked. Never again is now,’ he said, employing the adage stressing a commitment to preventing another Holocaust.

Anthony Housefather is the MP in the House of Commons for Mount Royal, an area with a large Jewish population held by the Liberals since 1940 being viewed as a bellwether for where the community stands.

‘The alarming numbers [of antisemitic incidents] make it clear as to why every level of government in the country needs to work together to implement all the recommendations set out in the justice committee report of last December and the commitments made at the national summit on antisemitism in March,’ Housefather told Fox News Digital.

Trudeau, who was widely panned for failing to adequately address the groundswell of antisemitism, had announced the summit within hours of Herzog’s condemnation.

Neil Oberman, the Conservative Party candidate running against Housefather, told Fox News Digital that in Mount Royal ‘personal safety and security have become serious issues.

‘It’s a stark reminder of the urgent need for a federal government consisting of adults implementing actions instead of putting together summits and position papers and blaming everybody else to combat hate and protect vulnerable communities,’ Oberman said.