Hegseth Ditches Planned Israel Trip To Travel With Trump

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will forgo his planned trip to Israel next week for a seat aboard Air Force One on President Trump’s trip to the Middle East, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson confirmed Friday.

Hegseth “was asked to join President Trump’s Middle East trip next week & is honored to do so,” Sean Parnell wrote in a post on X. 

He pointedly noted that the Pentagon chief “did not cancel his trip to Israel,” and that he “very much looks forward to visiting our ally Israel soon.”

The trip with Trump, which begins May 13 and includes stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, signals that the commander-in-chief continues to support Hegseth even as he has become mired in scandals. 

Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to relay sensitive military plans, as well as the reported chaos in the Defense Department under his leadership, have been heavily criticized by Democrats and even some Republicans.

The turmoil also has Senate Republicans privately wondering how much time Hegseth has left atop the Pentagon.

But Trump has stood firmly by Hegseth, saying in an NBC interview aired last week that he “is doing a very good job” at the Defense Department and that his job is “totally safe.”

An Israeli official told Axios that Hegseth’s trip to Israel, which was scheduled for Monday, had been ready for several days. While there, he was supposed to meet his counterpart, Israel Katz, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and receive briefings aboard an Israeli navy ship off the coast of Gaza.

Hegseth was then set to travel to Saudi Arabia the next day to join Trump’s visit.

Also scheduled to join Trump’s trip is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.