--- title: "Ex-Pentagon Spokesman Calls Defense Secretary Hegseth 'Fox News Fire-Breather'" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/ex-pentagon-spokesman-calls-defense-secretary-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/ex-pentagon-spokesman-calls-defense-secretary-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/ex-pentagon-spokesman-calls-defense-secretary-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/ex-pentagon-spokesman-calls-defense-secretary-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather" category: "Politics" published: "2026-11-13T04:47:08.749Z" source_reported: "2026-11-12T17:14:46.000Z" updated: "2026-11-13T04:47:08.749Z" trust_score: 30 critic_score: 57 hype_score: 68 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-11-13T04:30:34.654250+00:00" --- # Ex-Pentagon Spokesman Calls Defense Secretary Hegseth 'Fox News Fire-Breather' *John Ullyot stated Pete Hegseth is unfit for his role and impeachment is likely.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 30 of 100, higher is better. The central claim rests on anonymous sourcing, with no named sources or documents provided. - Craft 57 of 100, higher is better. The digests lack detail and context, and do not quote affected parties or explain why the story matters. - Hype 68 of 100, lower is better. Headlines use loaded adjectives like 'epic putdown' and 'brutally shreds' without substantiation in the digests. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - John Ullyot, former Pentagon spokesman, described Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a 'Fox News fire-breather'. - Ullyot stated that Hegseth is unfit for the position of defense secretary. - Ullyot suggested that Hegseth's impeachment is a matter of time. - Hegseth recently survived an impeachment push on the House floor. John Ullyot, a former Pentagon spokesman, has publicly stated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is unfit for his role. Ullyot, who previously served as the Defense Department's top communications official, described Hegseth as a 'Fox News fire-breather'. He made these remarks in an interview on CNN. Ullyot also suggested that Hegseth's impeachment is likely to occur in the future. Hegseth narrowly avoided impeachment on the House floor recently. The vote count was 211-204, with eleven House Democrats absent. Ullyot's comments came shortly after this vote. ## Disagreement on Hegseth's Departure Raw Story reported that John Ullyot stepped down from his role in the spring of 2025. Crooks and Liars stated that Ullyot resigned as the Pentagon's chief spokesperson in April 2025, indicating that the Department of Defense had devolved into 'total disarray' under Hegseth. ## What the coverage left out None of the left or centre-rated reports mention the specific vote count of 211-204 for the impeachment push on the House floor, nor do they name the eleven House Democrats who were absent for the vote. ## Who covered it Shares of the 6 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 50% (3) - Centre: 50% (3) - Right: 0% (0) 1 of 7 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-11-13T04:30:34.654250+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 1 time; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-11-13T05:00:37.486Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - Left-rated reports highlighted John Ullyot's description of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a 'Fox News fire-breather'. These reports focused on Ullyot's assertion that Hegseth was unfit for his position and that his impeachment was a matter of time. Raw Story noted Ullyot's departure from his Pentagon role in spring 2025, while Crooks and Liars specified his resignation in April 2025 and linked it to the Department of Defense being in 'total disarray'. ### Centre - Centre-rated reports also focused on John Ullyot's characterisation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a 'Fox News fire-breather'. These outlets noted Ullyot's statement that Hegseth was not fit to be defense secretary and that impeachment was likely. RadarOnline added that the former Pentagon official suggested Donald Trump 'deserves better' than Hegseth. Alabama Live and Staten Island Advance both mentioned Hegseth being called 'bombastic' by Ullyot during his CNN appearance. ### Right No separate framing summary. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 1 - mixed: 2 - high: 2 - unknown: 1 - veryHigh: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Raw Story](https://rawstory.com/hegseth-pentagon-2678381196) — Hegseth's own ex-spokesman delivers epic putdown live on TV: 'Fox News fire breather' - [RadarOnline](https://radaronline.com/p/pentagon-official-pete-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather-trump-deserves-better) — Former Pentagon Official Blasts Pete Hegseth as 'Fox News Fire-Breather' — as He Warns Trump 'Deserves Better' - [HuffPost](https://huffpost.com/entry/john-ullyot-pete-hegseth-warning_n_6af563d3e4b0914f133cc9fe) — Ex-Top Pentagon Spokesperson Slaps Pete Hegseth With Scathing 4-Word Label - [Crooks and Liars](https://crooksandliars.com/2026/11/ex-top-pentagon-spox-brutally-shreds-fox) — Ex-Top Pentagon Spox Brutally SHREDS 'Fox News Fire Breather' Pete Hegseth - [Alabama Live](https://al.com/politics/2026/11/former-top-aide-in-brutal-takedown-of-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather.html) — Former top aide in brutal takedown of Hegseth: ‘Fox News fire-breather’ - [Staten Island Advance](https://silive.com/politics/2026/11/former-top-aide-in-brutal-takedown-of-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather.html) — Former top aide in brutal takedown of Hegseth: ‘Fox News fire-breather’ - [frontpageindex.com](https://frontpageindex.com/2026/11/harry-enten-you-dont-understand-how.html) — Harry Enten: You Don’t Understand How Unpopular Hegseth Actually Is, 'More Unpopular Than Trump' ## Questions **Who is John Ullyot and what did he say about Pete Hegseth?** John Ullyot is a former Pentagon spokesman. He described Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a 'Fox News fire-breather', stated that Hegseth is unfit for his job, and suggested that impeachment is likely. **Did Pete Hegseth face impeachment proceedings?** Yes, Pete Hegseth narrowly survived an impeachment push on the House floor. The vote was 211-204, with eleven House Democrats absent. **When did John Ullyot leave his Pentagon role?** Reports indicate John Ullyot stepped down from his role as the Defense Department's top communications official in spring 2025, with one report specifying April 2025. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/ex-pentagon-spokesman-calls-defense-secretary-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Ex-Pentagon Spokesman Calls Defense Secretary Hegseth 'Fox News Fire-Breather'", https://mediabias.news/politics/ex-pentagon-spokesman-calls-defense-secretary-hegseth-fox-news-fire-breather