Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text

What happened

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed, sensitive plans for an imminent attack on Yemen with a second Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, The New York Times and other news organizations reported Sunday.

The new revelations capped a "month of total chaos at the Pentagon," newly departed Hegseth spokesperson John Ullyot said Sunday in an essay at Politico.

Who said what

Hegseth posted "essentially the same attack plans" in the newly uncovered group text as he had shared with Trump's top national security officials at "roughly the same time" on March 15, the Times said. Unlike the "Signalgate" group, some of the 13 participants in Hegseth's "Defense | Team Huddle" chat had no "apparent need to be given real-time information" on a forthcoming strike on the Houthis, and this time Hegseth "used his private phone, rather than his government one."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Along with Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, and brother Phil — a Pentagon liaison with the Homeland Security Department — the group chat included top Hegseth aides Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Joe Kasper. Caldwell, Selnick and a third top Pentagon aide, Colin Carroll, were escorted out of Pentagon last week and fired on Friday, accused of leaking unauthorized information — a charge they denied in a statement on Saturday.

What next?

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) asked the Pentagon inspector general's office to "include this latest incident in its ongoing investigation of Mr. Hegseth's mishandling of classified information." Other Democrats called for his ouster. Given the "dysfunction" and "disarray under Hegseth's leadership," Ullyot said at Politico, it's "hard to see" him "remaining in his role for much longer."