Washington: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly shared details of a March airstrike on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in a second Signal chat, a source familiar with the matter revealed, as reported by the international news agency Reuters on Sunday. The chat, which included Hegseth’s wife, brother, and personal lawyer, raised concerns about his use of an unclassified messaging platform to discuss highly sensitive military information, particularly as it coincides with a volatile period for him within the Pentagon.
This second chat follows similar revelations made last month by The Atlantic, which reported on a separate Signal chat that included senior national security officials from the Trump administration—an incident that occurred after a mistake by editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. In the latest revelation, the second Signal chat included roughly a dozen individuals and was originally created during Hegseth’s confirmation process to discuss administrative matters, rather than detailed military operations, according to the anonymous source. The source added that the chat contained the schedule for airstrikes on Yemen.
Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer—who previously worked as a Fox News producer—has attended sensitive meetings with foreign military officials. Public Pentagon photos have shown her sitting behind her husband during a March meeting with his British counterpart. Meanwhile, Hegseth’s brother serves as a liaison between the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.
The leak comes at a particularly delicate time for Hegseth, whose tenure at the Pentagon has already been marked by a crackdown on leaks—an effort he has fully supported. Recently, senior Pentagon officials were ousted as part of an ongoing internal investigation into leaks, further intensifying scrutiny on Hegseth’s role.
Both the Pentagon and the White House have yet to respond to requests for comment.
Political Fallout for Hegseth
The latest revelations have led to increasing calls for Hegseth’s resignation. Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have criticized him for jeopardizing national security. “We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk,” Schumer posted on X. “But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq War, echoed similar sentiments, stating that Hegseth “must resign in disgrace” due to the severity of the leaks.
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Within the Pentagon, some officials have questioned how Hegseth can continue in his position following the latest disclosure. This follows the recent departure of Dan Caldwell, a key advisor to Hegseth, who was escorted out of the Pentagon after being implicated in the leak investigation. Although Caldwell is not widely known, he was considered crucial to Hegseth’s operations and was named as the Pentagon’s point person in the first Signal chat. Caldwell expressed frustration over the situation on X, stating, “We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.”
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In the wake of Caldwell’s exit, several other lower-ranking officials, including Darin Selnick, recently appointed as Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, a former chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, were placed on administrative leave and subsequently fired.
