Pentagon employees were ousted after ‘turf war’ in Hegseth’s office: source
WASHINGTON — The dismissal of three key Pentagon aides in recent days followed a bureaucratic turf war fueled by ego and personality clashes — rather than sweeping philosophical differences as some suggested, The Post has learned.
Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense, were each escorted out of the building in a series of firings last week that occurred as a result of an investigation into leaks from officials.
Caldwell denied in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Monday that he’d leaked information, and claimed he was targeted for his policy views. But a source with direct knowledge of the dynamics told The Post on Tuesday that the whole ordeal boiled down to office politics.
The firings were the consequence of a “turf war” involving Joe Kasper, the now-former chief of staff to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to this source, who said Kasper “felt threatened that more and more of his portfolio … was being given to” Selnick and Caldwell.
In response, Kasper ordered the leak investigation that ultimately led to the trio’s terminations, the person said.