A prominent GOP congressman has called for Pete Hegseth’s departure as the defense secretary is embroiled in a string of national security scandals.
After texting sensitive war plans involving a wave of U.S. air strikes in Yemen in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chat last month, The New York Times revealed Sunday that Hegseth allegedly shared details of military strikes in a second Signal group, which included his wife, his attorney, and his brother.
On Monday, Nebraska Representative Don Bacon became the first House Republican to suggest that President Donald Trump, who has publicly downplayed the controversy surrounding his Pentagon chief, should remove Hegseth.
Bacon’s comments come ahead of Hegseth’s scheduled appearance on Fox & Friends—a show the defense secretary co-hosted for seven years—on Tuesday morning, as questions remain about his political future.
“The military should always pride itself on operational security. If the reports are true, the Secretary of Defense has failed at operational security, and that is unacceptable,” Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, toldAxios.
“If a Democrat did this, we’d be demanding a scalp. I don’t like hypocrisy. We should be Americans first when it comes to security,” he added.
In separate remarks made to Politico, Bacon said he had “concerns” about Hegseth’s lack of political and leadership experience after he was tapped as Trump’s defense secretary.
“I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern,” he said. “Russia and China are all over his phone, and for him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right. He’s acting like he’s above the law — and that shows an amateur person.”
The second chat on Signal—which is not an official communications channel available to top government officials—is said to have included 13 people, a source told the Associated Press. The chat, they said, was dubbed “Defense Team Huddle.”
It’s the second report of administration officials using an unclassified messaging platform to share sensitive information.
Trump stood firm in his support for Hegseth Monday, telling reporters at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll that his defense secretary was “doing a great job.”
“It’s just fake news; they just bring up stories. It sounds like disgruntled employees,” Trump said of the Signalgate 2.0 saga.
The president’s comments came amid NPR’s report that he has “begun the process” of finding a replacement for his Pentagon chief. The White House denied the claims and called the report “fake news.”
Hegseth took a swipe at the press on the White House lawn, claiming the report came from “the same media that peddled the Russia hoax.”
“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” he added.
He also accused his former trusted advisers of turning against him after two Pentagon officials were fired in a leak investigation.
“What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and a bunch of hit pieces come out,” he added.
