Pentagon employees were ousted after turf war in Hegseths office: source

WASHINGTON — The dismissal of three key Pentagon aides in recent days followed a bureaucratic turf war fueled by ego and personality clashes — rather than sweeping philosophical differences as some suggested, The Post has learned.Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense, were each escorted out of the building in a series of firings last week that occurred as a result of an investigation into leaks from officials.Caldwell denied in an interview with Tucker Carlson Monday that he’d leaked information, and claimed he was targeted for his policy views.But a source with direct knowledge of the dynamics told The Post on Tuesday that the whole ordeal boiled down to office politics.The firings were the consequence of a “turf war” involving Joe Kasper, the now-former chief of staff to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to this source, who said Kasper “felt threatened that more and more of his portfolio … was being given to” Selnick and Caldwell.In response, Kasper ordered the leak investigation that ultimately led to the trio’s terminations, the person said.Some of Kasper’s nominal responsibilities that Selnick and Caldwell had been overseeing included “recommendations on appointments, decisions on high-level official visits and official travel planning — much of what was emerging as a priority for that given week,” according to the source.Caldwell had also been given responsibility over Middle East and Ukraine policy in Hegseth’s office, while Selnick was in charge of personnel matters, such as canceling “DEI and identity politics” at the Pentagon, the source said.“It was simply because [Kasper] wasn’t an effective manager and balls were being dropped, decisions were not made, etc.,” the person claimed, adding of Kasper.

“He’s a nice guy but a poor manager.”Caldwell, Selnick and Carroll were officially term...