White House voices support for Pete Hegseth as dismissal talk circulates

The White House published a post on its account on X praising Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, at a moment when talk of his possible removal was circulating, according to two Hebrew-language news channels on Telegram. Abu Ali Express reported that the message appeared shortly before its own report and described it as a show of support in the face of calls to move Hegseth out of his job.

In the version quoted by Abu Ali Express, the post credited President Trump and Hegseth with the return of "America's true strength." News.co.il reported a closely matching text, thanking the president and Hegseth for bringing back real American power, and placed the post against the background of rumours that Hegseth might be fired.

What the White House said

Both reports give the same core message: the president and his Secretary of War are credited together with restoring American strength. The two outlets rendered the post in Hebrew, and their wording differs slightly, so the English phrasing above is a translation back from those Hebrew versions rather than the exact text published by the White House. Neither report says the post mentioned the dismissal reports directly; the link between the post and the talk of Hegseth's departure is drawn by the two outlets.

Who Pete Hegseth is

Hegseth is a member of President Donald Trump's cabinet and heads the department that runs the US armed forces. Both Hebrew reports refer to him by the title Secretary of War, which is the title the White House post itself uses. The Hebrew phrasing in the two reports differs, with one calling him the American minister of war and the other the secretary of war, but both describe the same office.

The two sources

Abu Ali Express is a Hebrew-language Telegram channel that follows security and regional news and is widely read in Israel. News.co.il is an Israeli news outlet that also distributes short updates through a Telegram channel. Both items are brief updates rather than full articles: each relays the White House message and places it in the context of reports about Hegseth's future, without further detail.

A difference in framing

The two outlets describe the background in slightly different terms. Abu Ali Express spoke of calls for Hegseth to be removed from his post, which suggests public pressure on him. News.co.il referred to rumours of a possible dismissal, which points to speculation about a decision by the administration. Neither report says who made the calls or where the rumours came from, and the two descriptions are not reconciled in the material.

Why it matters to readers following Israel

Hegseth's department is central to US military cooperation with Israel, so any change at its head is followed closely by Israeli media. The fact that two Israeli outlets relayed the White House post within a short time of each other reflects that attention. The reports themselves, however, make no claim about any effect on Israel or on US policy in the region.

What the reports do not say

Neither report identifies the source of the dismissal rumours or the calls for Hegseth's removal, or explains what prompted them. Neither carries any response from Hegseth himself or from his department. Neither says whether President Trump has commented beyond the White House post, or whether any decision on Hegseth's position has been made or is being considered.