Donald Trump Pressured to Dismiss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Following Military Plans Leak | US News
Donald Trump has been called upon to dismiss US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth amid growing concerns surrounding the leak of confidential war plans through an encrypted messaging platform.
The leaked conversation on Signal included US officials such as Vice President JD Vance and Mr. Hegseth, who inadvertently added an American journalist to the chat, resulting in the sensitive information being exposed. The journalist was included in the conversation by mistake.
The officials discussed plans to execute airstrikes against Yemen’s Iran-affiliated Houthis, which subsequently occurred on March 15.
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In a brief letter, Democrat minority leader Hakeem Jeffries labeled Mr. Hegseth as “the most unqualified Secretary of Defence in American history.”
“His ongoing role in leadership at the Pentagon jeopardizes national security and endangers our courageous military personnel globally,” he stated.
“His actions are shocking, endanger American lives, and likely breach the law.
“Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth should be terminated immediately.”
The president has defended national security adviser Mike Waltz. Pic: Reuters
From the White House, Mr. Trump minimized the incident, asserting that he believed the chat included “no classified information.”
“They were using an app, which I understand is commonly used by many in government and the media,” he told reporters.
Trump voiced his support for national security adviser Michael Waltz, who had mistakenly included Goldberg in the Signal chat.
“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good person,” Trump told NBC News.
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How serious is US chat breach?
Mr. Trump mentioned that officials would “likely” refrain from using Signal in the future but declined to endorse an extensive investigation into what Democrats are calling a significant security breach necessitating high-level resignations.
Participants in the Signal chat included Mr. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Mr. Hegseth.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who were also in the chat, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that no classified information was exchanged.
Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe faced scrutiny as the Senate Intelligence Committee questioned them about the leak. Pic: Reuters
However, Democratic senators have expressed doubt, highlighting that journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, reported that Mr. Hegseth shared operational specifics, “including details about targets, weapons the US would use, and attack sequencing.”
Republican Majority Leader John Thune indicated on Tuesday that he anticipates the Senate Armed Services Committee will review the use of Signal by Trump administration officials.
Read more from Sky News:
UK maintains confidence in US intelligence sharing
Insights from Trump officials’ group chat
Understanding Signal: Is it truly secure?
Simultaneously, the White House has largely targeted the journalist behind the original report instead of taking responsibility. Mr. Goldberg’s credibility has faced repeated challenges.
In a post on X, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Mr. Goldberg of sensationalizing the narrative, while White House Communications Director Steven Cheung categorized the media’s portrayal of the security breach as a “witch hunt.”
Group chat blunder wouldn’t happen in the UK
If a British defence minister were to share live military operation details with colleagues in an unofficial messaging group, they would be dismissed.
President Donald Trump’s effort to downplay the incident, where his top defence and security team inadvertently included a journalist in the chat, will be observed with increasing concern by US allies and amusement by adversaries.
Publicly, the UK government continues to assert that security relationships with the US remain robust.
Privately, there will likely be significant concern – although perhaps not surprise – within Whitehall regarding this extraordinary failure in basic operational security from the president’s national security adviser, defence secretary, intelligence chief, and CIA director.
Any intelligence about potential bombing operations against Iranian-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen would typically be communicated through specifically designated government channels that safeguard classified details.
It is alarming that Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, deemed it adequate to create a group on the commercially available messaging platform Signal – which does offer encryption but remains vulnerable if devices are compromised – to deliberate plans against the Houthis.
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The Atlantic has responded by dismissing these claims, stating, “Attempts to vilify and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow a clear playbook by elected officials and others in power who oppose journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans.”
Mr. Hegseth told reporters on Monday that no one had messaged war plans, which prompted Mr. Goldberg to label those remarks as false during an interview on CNN.
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The reason behind officials opting to communicate via Signal instead of secure government channels designated for sensitive discussions remains ambiguous.
According to reports from Sky News’ US affiliate NBC News, the Pentagon had warned of a known vulnerability in the Signal chat app in an email circulated prior to The Atlantic article’s release.
The email read: “Russia-aligned threat groups are actively targeting the Signal Messenger application of individuals likely to exchange sensitive military and governmental communications related to the war in Ukraine.”
Employees were cautioned that the vulnerability could be alleviated by updating to the latest app version and applying the appropriate settings.
