A Defense official told VF initial glow-up estimates were too high for Sec. Hegseth, who of course shouldn't unwittingly text sensitive military info to journalists on Signal without a full face.

President Trump and Vice-President Vance are standing by Hegseth despite the swirling controversy over his handling of the Defense Department.

Pete Hegseth just can’t stop himself from using Signal. The defense secretary installed the encrypted-but-unclassified messaging app on a desktop computer in his Pentagon office to work around restrictions that prevent him from using personal devices to communicate with people outside headquarters.