Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz stated on Sunday that the administration is fully behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, adding that they are "couldn't be prouder" of his first few months on the job, even though the department has been rocked by a slew of high-profile scandals and resignations recently.

Waltz was asked during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday about the alleged dysfunction within the Pentagon's top ranks and whether he thinks the current Pentagon is capable of accomplishing ambitious foreign policy goals, as Fox News reported.

Waltz comments

"Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?" Bartiromo asked Waltz on "Sunday Morning Futures."

He addressed the wild rumors of dysfunction within the department, and some of the departures within the department, as well as allegations that Hegseth has threatened to administer polygraph exams to certain some suspect employees.

"I'll tell you about a weakened Pentagon," Waltz fired back. "That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it."

Waltz asserted that Hegseth is "leading from the front" at the Defense Department, and praised what he characterized as Hegseth's efforts to reform the Pentagon.

"He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking," Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a "media narrative," and one he vowed they "are going to power through."

Issue at hand

Waltz's remarks come after mounting criticism of Hegseth's stance in the past several weeks, which sprang from his participation in a March Signal group chat debating the possibility of a military assault on the Houthis and later the dismissal of other senior staff members.

The following individuals were terminated earlier this month: Colin Carroll, chief of staff of the deputy defense secretary, Darin Selnick, Hegseth's deputy chief of staff, and Dan Caldwell, aide to Hegseth.

According to John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official, the firings were "baffling" and he warned of imminent instability when he resigned earlier this year.

"The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership," Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico.

White House support

In recent days, however, the White House has made an effort to highlight its backing of Hegseth.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Vice President JD Vance strongly denied rumors that the administration is contemplating a potential replacement.

"Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he's achieved thus far speak for themselves," Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week.

She described the reports as a "smear campaign" against a Trump administration official.