Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has become afraid of President Donald Trump amid mounting frustrations over the Iran war, The Daily Mail reported Saturday.

Anonymous insiders say Trump is increasingly turning away from Hegseth after the two argued at Camp David earlier this month, according to the report. Instead, the president is leaning more on another of his favored "yes-men," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

"One is a sledgehammer, and the other is a scalpel," one anonymous insider told The Daily Mail.

Trump has lately been elevating Bessent at meetings that include Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to another anonymous insider familiar with the meetings.

"The environment changed," that insider said.

On Monday, Bessent unveiled Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign to sanction Iran and its trading partners that Bessent described as "economic D-Day." The operation came as the Trump administration realized "it can't bludgeon them anymore," the insider explained. The shift toward financial pressure reflects the role Bessent has carved out at Treasury, where he oversees the department's sanctions architecture, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control, giving him direct leverage over the kind of measures now at the center of the Iran strategy.

Hegseth remains among the "yes-men" who make up Trump's advisers, according to The Daily Mail. But a Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee told the outlet, "Hegseth is afraid of Trump and won't be as honest as he should about the war for fear of losing his job." The dynamic follows earlier scrutiny of Hegseth's tenure at the Pentagon, including controversy earlier this year over his use of the Signal messaging app to discuss military operations, which drew congressional criticism and questions about his standing with the president.

Bessent holds a seat on the National Security Council and has "always had a big role in Iran," an anonymous administration official told The Daily Mail. Bessent is viewed as a straight shooter who has earned Trump's confidence, the insider added. A former hedge fund manager and founder of Key Square Group, Bessent came to the Treasury post from a career in financial markets rather than government, a background that has informed the administration's emphasis on sanctions and financial-statecraft tools.

"He's very trusted," the insider said. "It's not just on Iran. His stock is increasing. He's just more and more involved in things."

Another anonymous White House official told the Daily Mail, "Secretary Bessent has been involved throughout this entire conflict, and Secretary Hegseth will continue to be heavily involved."