Democrats call for US Defense Secretary Hegseth to resign over group chat leak

WASHINGTON — Senior figures in the Democratic party have called for the resignation of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth after he sent war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included a journalist.

The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported on Monday that the material shared “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the US would be deploying, and attack sequencing”.

The US National Security Council stated that the text chain “appears to be authentic”.

Two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on 15 March, the US launched a wave of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The revelation, with its clear implications for national security, has sent shockwaves through diplomatic and political circles, and many have called for investigations into how the blunder came about, while others have called for disciplinary action.

The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, led calls for Hegseth’s resignation, calling for him to “be fired” if he did not quit. In his statement, Martin blasted Hegseth as “unfit to lead the Defense Department even before he risked our national security”.

“Hegseth should resign, and if he doesn’t resign, he should be fired. It’s crystal clear that our men and women in uniform deserve better – and that our national security cannot be left in Hegseth’s incompetent and unqualified hands,” Martin added.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries described the leak on a non-classified system as “completely outrageous and shocks the conscience”, adding that it shows that Americans are increasingly angry “due to the elevation of reckless and mediocre individuals, including the Secretary of Defense.”

In his statement, Jeffries called for House Republicans to join Democrats “in a swift, serious and substantive investigation into this unacceptable and irresponsible national security breach.” Separately, Jeffries told reporters that Hegseth “has got to be the most unqualified person ever to lead the Pentagon in American history”.

Stressing the gravity of the situation in a floor speech, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time.”

He underlined that using encrypted instant messaging service Signal, rather than government communications channels, was even more concerning than the leak to The Atlantic.

“It’s bad enough that a private citizen was added to this chain, but it’s far worse that sensitive military information was exchanged on an unauthorized application,” Schumer explained.

It has also drawn reaction from former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose use of a private server for classified emails while Secretary of State became a major scandal during her 2016 campaign, with President Donald Trump repeatedly returning to the issue.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Clinton responded in a post on X while sharing the eyes emoji and The Atlantic article.

Reaction from Republicans appeared more mixed, with many seeking to downplay the incident. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana was among those offering a lukewarm response.

“A mistake was made. It happens,” Kennedy told media. Other figures in the party recognised the blunder, but refused to call for repercussions for those involved.

But Senate Armed Services Committee Chair, Roger Wicker, was among those telling reporters that “mistakes were made”.

“We’re very concerned about it and we’ll be looking into it on a bipartisan basis,” the Mississippi Republican senator said, adding that the panel “definitely” plans to investigate the situation.

Meanwhile, The Hill reported that Republican Senator John Cornyn, of Texas, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, told reporters at the Capitol on Monday the inclusion of a journalist in the chat was “a huge screwup”.

“I mean, is there any other way to describe it,” he added. — Euronews