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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing intense scrutiny following revelations that he shared sensitive details of U.S. military operations in Yemen via his personal phone in a 13-person Signal group chat — a chat that included his wife, brother, and close advisers but no other Cabinet-level officials.
Two sources confirmed to NBC News that Hegseth shared the information despite an explicit warning from an aide to avoid discussing sensitive operations over unsecured communication platforms. The chat reportedly included flight schedules of FA-18 fighter jets, raising concerns about operational security and protocol violations.
The development adds fuel to a growing fire surrounding Hegseth’s conduct, after The New York Times reported the existence of a second Signal group chat. The first group, revealed last month, mistakenly included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who was unintentionally added to a Signal thread with national security officials discussing imminent strikes in Yemen.
Hegseth’s spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the allegations, writing on X, “There was no classified information in any Signal chat.” The White House echoed the sentiment. “No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared,” said Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly.
Still, the inclusion of non-government individuals in the chat — notably Hegseth’s wife Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, and his brother Phil, an adviser at the Department of Homeland Security — has raised serious red flags. Neither appears to have had a justifiable reason to access sensitive military operation details.
In both instances, Hegseth used his personal phone rather than an official device, further drawing concern from national security experts. The Pentagon’s inspector general has launched a probe into the earlier chat chain involving Goldberg.
Adding to the turmoil, the Defense Department has seen an exodus of top staff in recent days. Advisers Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick were escorted out of the Pentagon last week amid a leak investigation, followed by the resignations of Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense.
In a joint statement, Caldwell, Selnick, and Carroll denied wrongdoing, saying: “Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.”
Top Democrats swiftly called for Hegseth’s removal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on X, “We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him.” Intelligence Committee Chair Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) added, “He should resign.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a military veteran, was even more direct: “Pete Hegseth is a threat to our national security. Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops’ lives are endangered.”
With mounting political pressure and an ongoing investigation, Hegseth’s tenure as Defense Secretary now faces an uncertain future.
