New Delhi, April 22 -- The White House has strongly denied a news report suggesting that President Donald Trump is seeking to replace Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth amid growing controversy over alleged leaks of sensitive military information.

The White House has started the process of identifying a new Defense Secretary, NPR reported on Monday, citing an anonymous US official as saying.

"This @NPR story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind @SecDef."

The White House's official rapid response account echoed the sentiment, calling NPR a "Fake News propaganda...