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.
âI think they should make sure it never happens again. I wish theyâd tell us, âIt will never happen again.â Itâs the first strike in the early stages of an administration,â Cramer said. âDonât let it ever happen again.â
âI donât know how many strikes you get. In baseball, you get three. Maybe this is worth two,â Cramer said. âIf mistakes like this continue to happen, weâll deal with them as it happens. My hope and my expectation is that it wonât.â
One Republican senator noted President Donald Trump has stood by Hegseth even though he is ânot happy.â
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to the chat.
On Tuesday, Trump said it âthe only glitch in two months.â
Lawmakers are looking at how Hegseth has responded to the blunder.
âThe worst part of it is Hegseth saying himself, âThis didnât really happen.â Why donât you just admit it?â one Republican senator said, per The Hill. âItâs going to have to be investigated.â
Brit Hume, Hegsethâs former colleague at Fox News, reposted a video of Hegseth on X, adding, âOh for Godâs sake, the administration has already confirmed the authenticity of the message.â
Hume continued his criticism of the incident on Wednesday.
âThe first is: get the facts out as fast as you can and donât be afraid to take responsibility. I actually think in the early going, the administration did pretty well on that score. You know, Mike Waltz was forthright saying that he took responsibility and the president was as well saying it,â Hume posted.
Then, it is imperative not to add to the story, per Hume.
âBut then the second rule is donât feed the story. So, you know, once youâve made your your case about what happened and youâre maybe waiting for further information to service, just stop talking about it,â Hume wrote.
See his remarks below:
Also on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to clarify the difference between âwar plansâ and âattack plans.â
Vice President J.D. Vance added his two cents in the matter.
âItâs very clear (The Atlanticâs Jeffrey) Goldberg oversold what he had. But one thing in particular really stands out,â Vance wrote.
However, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said the information should have been classified, according to The Hill.
âThe information as published recently appears to me to be of such a sensitive nature that, based on my knowledge, I would have wanted it classified,â Wicker said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), one of the no votes in Hegsethâs confirmation and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, questioned whether Hegseth was ready for the âmassive and solemn responsibilityâ of managing 3 million military civilian personnel and an annual budget of $1 trillion.
âMere desire to be a âchange agentâ is not enough to fill these shoes,â McConnell said. âMr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass the test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.â
Republicans are not the only ones dismayed by Hegseth.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) want Hegseth removed.
âHe should be fired,â Schumer said Wednesday.
Jeffries wrote a letter to Trump about the matter, stating, Hegsethâs âcontinued presence in the top position of leadership at the Pentagon threatens the nationâs security and puts our brave men and women in uniform throughout the world in danger.â
