It's a bad time to be a bad Secretary of Defense. Pete Hegseth has squandered his opening months as Secretary of Defense with more leaks than the Titanic, staff infighting, and more. Meanwhile, the world is only growing more dangerous, particularly with India and Pakistan on the brink of a real shooting match.

Pete Hegseth needs to protect America, not fight personal and personnel battles. Whether the White House is looking for replacements for Hegesth or not, it's been thrust into the uneasy position of considering it a realistic option.

We're back at this point because Hegseth had another set of leaks from Signal chats. This time, the leaks concerned strikes the United States made in Yemen. Signal, the app, is secure, but Pete Hegseth's use of it is not.

The Wall Street Journal noted of Hegseth, "On his end, Hegseth has become increasingly concerned about how Trump is perceiving the situation and the possibility of being fired, according to defense officials and people familiar with the Pentagon's leadership. He has spent hours on the phone shoring up support outside the Pentagon and was late to multiple meetings during his first trip to the Asia-Pacific region."

We just wrapped up a Biden administration during which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the hospital, and no one knew we didn't have someone in the position. The Biden team could only shrug its shoulders because no one had a good answer for why no one in D.C. noticed the Defense Secretary suddenly vanished.

With Hegseth, he's there, but he's not focused on the job. Note the last sentence of that WSJ report, he was "late to multiple meetings during his first trip to the Asia-Pacific region."

This is not the time to be late for such meetings. The White House is in an intense trade war with China, which demands the U.S. project strength abroad while we negotiate with the Chinese Communist Party. Meanwhile, a terrorist attack in India has them on the brink of war with Pakistan.

Pakistan denies it was behind the killings of 26 Indian tourists in the Kashmir region. But no one in India believes that. Making matters worse, "India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety."

India has already responded. "India announced a string of punitive measures. It downgraded diplomatic ties, suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty and revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals. India also said it will reduce its staff in its high commission in Pakistan and bring down the number of Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi to 30 from 55 from May 1."

Pakistan is warning further escalation could lead to war. Given the hatred between the two countries, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that they could find their way into a hot conflict.

In short, Pete Hegseth has no business being late to meetings in this region. Between the trade war with China and the developing war brewing between India and Pakistan, Asia is on the brink of widespread conflict. We might need a miracle to avoid the worst outcomes.

None of this includes the conflicts Trump inherited upon entering office. The United States has ongoing obligations to support and defend Ukraine while negotiating an end to the conflict with Russia. Trump's negotiations between both parties are as lively as ever, and we have defense obligations to perform.

Nor does this include the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Trump is trying to put pressure on Iran and its nuclear program, at the same time Israel is threatening to bomb the country to pieces. It's a good cop, bad cop situation that requires a legitimate threat from the United States and Israel.

Six months ago, we didn't know what Biden, his team, or Lloyd Austin's Department of Defense were doing. It seems likely we'll learn that neither Biden nor Austin was fit to serve in any capacity.

Yet, here we are asking what Pete Hegseth is doing. He may have great ideas to reform the military, but right now, we have to provide leadership to the world while multiple conflicts are navigated.

Even if Trump moves on from Hegseth, that doesn't change the world's reality. It's an actively dangerous world in which the United States must provide military and strategic leadership. If Hegseth can't do the job, that's fine. Boot him and get someone who can.

This is not a job you can learn on the fly. The safety of the United States is at stake, and Pete Hegseth is more interested in television interviews to protect his job and image for the president. That's an audience of one issue. We need him focused on the defense of the country and the world.

In short, get it together. And if you can't, get out, Pete Hegseth.