House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has now called on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to step down from leaking the signal text chain and wrote a letter to President Donald Trump calling for him to be “stopped off soon.”
“Pete Hegses is the most unqualified secretary of defense in American history. His continued presence in the top position of leadership at the Pentagon threatens national security and puts brave men and women at risk around the world,” said a New York Democrat.
“The so-called Secretary of Defense recklessly and casually disclosed a highly sensitive war plan that includes the timing of pending attacks, possible strike targets, and the timing of weapons used.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegses should be fired immediately,” he added.
Hegseth dodges reporter questions over signal chat leaks
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries on the left is calling for President Trump to fire Secretary Pete Hegseth to the right. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
Hegses on Tuesday dodged a reporter's question about a leaked signalling chat group that allegedly involved Trump administration officials discussing upcoming strikes over Yemen's Hoosis. The strike took place on March 15th.
Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said the authorities were discussing “war plans,” but decided not to release some of the highly sensitive information he saw, including accurate information on weapon packaging, targets and timing, due to the potential threat to national security and military operations.
The secretary pushed back Goldberg's claims and repeated his claim that “no one has texted the war plan.”
Trump says Waltz doesn't need to apologise over signal text chain links
National Intelligence Director Tarsi Gabbard and the CIA director testify before a Senate Intelligence Email Committee hearing on threats around the world on March 25th at Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarck)
“As I said yesterday, no one is a text message war plan, and that's all I have to say about it,” Heggs said.
“I know exactly what I'm doing, what we're supervising, and I'm really proud of what we've achieved, what we've achieved that night's successful mission,” he said.
Senator Ron Wyden called on national security advisers Mike Waltz and Hegses to step down on Tuesday at a hearing with the Senate Intelligence Email Committee.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said he “knowed exactly what he was doing after the journalist was accidentally added to a group chat with senior staff. (Reuters/Yves Herman)
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Trump told Fox News he has no plans to fire Waltz.
Landon Mion of Fox News contributed to this report.
