Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back forcefully on Monday, criticizing the media and “disgruntled former employees” as coverage intensified surrounding the Signal messaging controversy. Speaking to reporters at the White House during the traditional Easter Egg Roll, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth firmly denied recent reports claiming he participated in a second Signal app conversation in which classified details about strikes in Yemen were allegedly shared. Hegseth dismissed the claims and emphasized that he and President Donald Trump are fully aligned.

“What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,” Hegseth said, responding to new reporting from The New York Times. “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 continued. “Not going to work with me, because 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. So I’m happy to be here at the Easter Egg Roll with my dad and my kids.”

Asked if he had spoken with the president, the former Fox News host said he had. “And we are going to continue fighting. On the same page all the way,” Hegseth said. At the same event, Trump also expressed confidence in his SECDEF and blasted the most recent reports as false. “It’s just fake news,” Trump said to reporter. “You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that’s what he’s doing. You don’t always have friends when you do that. He is doing a great job … Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump noted further, in reference to the ongoing US strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

Hegseth repeated his accusations against “disgruntled former employees” who have allegedly been caught in unauthorized leaks to the media during a “Fox & Friends” interview with show co-host Brian Kilmeade Tuesday morning. He also noted that recruitment for all six service branches was either at or exceeding their goals, a phenomenon that has continued since Trump’s November election win.