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.”
Brit Hume, Hegseth’s former colleague at Fox News, reposted a video of Hegseth on X, adding, “Oh for God’s sake, the administration has already confirmed the authenticity of the message.”
Hume continued his criticism of the incident on Wednesday.
“The first is: get the facts out as fast as you can and don’t 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,” Hume posted.
Then, it is imperative not to add to the story, per Hume.
“But then the second rule is don’t feed the story. So, you know, once you’ve made your your case about what happened and you’re maybe waiting for further information to service, just stop talking about it,” Hume wrote.
See his remarks below:
Also on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to clarify the difference between “war plans” and “attack plans.”
Vice President J.D. Vance added his two cents in the matter.
“It’s very clear (The Atlantic’s Jeffrey) Goldberg oversold what he had. But one thing in particular really stands out,” Vance wrote.
However, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said the information should have been classified, according to The Hill.
“The 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,” Wicker said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), one of the no votes in Hegseth’s confirmation and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, questioned whether Hegseth was ready for the “massive and solemn responsibility” of managing 3 million military civilian personnel and an annual budget of $1 trillion.
“Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes,” McConnell said. “Mr. 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.”
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.
“He should be fired,” Schumer said Wednesday.
Jeffries wrote a letter to Trump about the matter, stating, Hegseth’s “continued presence in the top position of leadership at the Pentagon threatens the nation’s security and puts our brave men and women in uniform throughout the world in danger.”
