Pressure Continues to Pile Over Signal Controversy —  WH Goes on Defense

All eyes are on Secretary of Defense 👤Pete Hegseth after a journalist was inadvertently part of a group chat that included sensitive military information.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are criticizing Hegseth and questioning his ability for the job in wake of the call. The call, made on Signal, was about a pending military strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen, The Hill reported.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said this is the first strike against Hegseth.

“I think they should make sure it never happens again. I wish they’d tell us, ‘It will never happen again.’ It’s the first strike in the early stages of an administration,” Cramer said. “Don’t let it ever happen again.”

“I don’t know how many strikes you get. In baseball, you get three. Maybe this is worth two,” Cramer said. “If mistakes like this continue to happen, we’ll deal with them as it happens. My hope and my expectation is that it won’t.”

One Republican senator noted President Donald Trump has stood by Hegseth even though he is “not happy.”

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to the chat.

On Tuesday, Trump said it “the only glitch in two months.”

Lawmakers are looking at how Hegseth has responded to the blunder.

“The worst part of it is Hegseth saying himself, ‘This didn’t really happen.’ Why don’t you just admit it?” one Republican senator said, per The Hill. “It’s going to have to be investigated.”