Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell echoed that sentiment, rejecting the idea that Fulcher had been fired and calling him “a great guy.”
However, Fulcher’s time at the Pentagon was anything but quiet.
Just days before his promotion earlier this year, Fulcher reportedly clashed with Yinon Weiss, head of the Pentagon’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to The Washington Post, Fulcher stormed out of a heated meeting and accused Pentagon security personnel of “looking for him.” The outburst triggered a confrontation between Hegseth and Weiss, during which the Defense Secretary allegedly raised his voice and backed Fulcher.
Shortly after the incident, Hegseth added Fulcher to his inner circle and fired three other senior advisers — a shakeup that raised eyebrows in Washington.
Then, in June, The Guardian reported that Fulcher had made startling claims to Hegseth’s then-chief of staff Joe Kasper and personal attorney Tim Parlatore. Fulcher allegedly said he had inside information that could identify leakers of classified material — and claimed the National Security Agency had conducted warrantless surveillance that exposed them.
But there was a catch: Fulcher reportedly said he would only disclose the intel if he were allowed to help lead the investigation.
The Pentagon has not confirmed whether those claims were ever substantiated or acted upon.
For now, the Defense Department maintains that Fulcher’s exit was voluntary. But with multiple internal dust-ups, a mysterious NSA surveillance claim, and a pattern of high-level firings, speculation continues to swirl around Hegseth’s rapid restructuring of the Pentagon’s power core.
This story is still developing.