President Donald Trump declared on Monday that he supports American Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following reports that he shared details of a March attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen in a Signal chat group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
Revelations that Hegseth used the unclassified Signal messaging system to share highly sensitive security details for the second time come at a time of uncertainty for him and the Pentagon, where senior officials were dismissed last week in an internal investigation into information leaks, Reuters reports.
"Pete is doing a great job. Everyone is pleased with him," Trump said. When asked if he still trusts Hegseth, Trump replied, "Oh, completely."
"Ask the Houthis how they're doing," Trump added, as the U.S. military, under Trump's leadership, has intensified its bombing campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi group.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt denied a report by National Public Radio that the Trump administration has started looking for a new Defense Secretary.
In the second Signal chat that the press learned about, Hegseth shared details of an attack on the Houthis similar to those revealed last month by The Atlantic after its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a separate chat group on the Signal app.
The second Signal chat included about 12 people and was created during Hegseth's Senate confirmation process to discuss administrative issues rather than detailed military planning.
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Among these people was Hegseth's brother, who is the Department of Homeland Security representative at the Pentagon. Additionally, Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, attended sensitive meetings with foreign military counterparts, according to images publicly posted by the Pentagon.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Hegseth was advised not to share information on unsecured systems like Signal before doing so last month.
The Pentagon's inspector general's office announced earlier this month that it had opened an investigation into Hegseth's use of the unclassified commercial messaging app Signal to coordinate the highly sensitive U.S. strikes against the Houthi movement on March 15.
Republicans, for the most part, remain silent
At least nine Senate Democrats have called on Hegseth to resign after the latest news, stating that the existence of a second careless Signal chat shows he is unfit for the role.
Republican congressmen, who control both the Senate and the House of Representatives, have largely remained silent.
However, Republican congressman Don Bacon, in an interview with Politico, raised questions about Hegseth's experience and stated that such a Signal chat would be unacceptable.
During his first administration, Trump removed several defense secretaries due to political differences or doubts about their loyalty.
However, Hegseth is seen as aligned with Trump. He deployed thousands of troops to the Mexican border, urged Europe to spend more on defense, and targeted diversity in the military.