BURSTThe fifth-ranking House Democrat called Tuesday for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign for sending sensitive military action plans over an unauthorized group chat that included a prominent D.C. journalist.
Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.), the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and an Air Force veteran, said Hegseth’s messages — which detailed the Pentagon’s plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier this month — were “reckless” and put the lives of U.S. troops at risk.
“Had that information gotten to the Houthis, American pilots could have been shot down [and] Navy sailors could have been targeted,” Lieu said during a press briefing in the Capitol. “His reckless actions endangered lives of American troops, endangered our national security, and makes it so that our allies don’t want to share sensitive classified information with us any more.”
Lieu’s remarks came shortly after another top Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for the resignations of two top Trump officials who participated in the group chat: Hegseth and Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser.
The uproar was sparked on Monday when Jeffrey Goldberg, the top editor of The Atlantic magazine, published an explosive story revealing how he had been invited to join a Signal group chat featuring many of the highest ranking officials in the Trump administration, including Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Hegseth and Waltz.
On March 15, the discussion focused on the Pentagon’s plans to launch missile strikes against the Houthis, an Iran-backed group that’s terrorized cargo vessels in the Red Sea. Hegseth, according to Goldberg, laid out the details of those strikes, including the timing, sequencing, targets and weapons systems to be used. Several hours later, those strikes commenced as promised, Goldberg said.
Hegseth has denied that narrative, saying “nobody was texting war plans” while accusing Goldberg of concocting the allegations.
“You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again,” Hegseth said Monday.
Hegseth’s denial, however, has been undermined by the White House National Security Council, which verified the authenticity of the group chat and said it’s looking into the affair.
Lieu was quick to note the conflicting messages from the administration, accusing Hegseth of lying to the public.
“The White House confirmed that these Signal chats were authentic. Instead of apologizing to the American people, Hegseth lied to the American people,” Lieu said.
Republican leaders in the Capitol, who had launched years-long investigations into the private email server used by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, don’t appear ready to apply the same standard to the Trump administration.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the White House “is addressing” the episode and no disciplinary actions should be taken against Hegseth or Waltz.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) blamed the “leftist media” for focusing on process instead of the Trump policies, which he said are popular.
“They can’t argue with this new demonstration of American strength that is keeping Americans safe at home and abroad, so now we’re griping about who’s on a text message and who’s not,” Hawley told Fox News Monday. “I mean, come on.”
Still, a small group of Republicans have criticized the actions of Hegseth and the other officials on the chat. Some have pointed out that Signal, a commercial messaging app, is not approved by the federal government for sending sensitive information.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), another Air Force veteran, said it’s a certainty that Russia and China intercepted the chat messages around the time the strikes occurred.
“It’s a security violation, and there’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff within hours of the actual attacks,” Bacon told CNN Monday.
Lieu piled on, accusing Hegseth and other Trump officials of neglecting their chief responsibility: Safeguarding the country they serve.
“It shows how not serious these national security professionals take our national security,” he continued. “Hegseth needs to resign, and everyone on that text chain needs to go take some courses on how to deal with national security classified information.”