Pete Hegseth is Unfit for Office
The revelation of yet another chat involving Secretary of Defense Hegseth demonstrates a simple reality; he must resign
The Trump administration is a litany of failures, cruel acts, and controversies tearing at the nation's fabric. All of this would be disqualifying for a normal administration, but as we know from the beginning, there is nothing normal about Trump or his administration, and that is on perfect display with the unmitigated national security threat known as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He is unfit and should never have been confirmed.
The national security failure
Mr. Hegseth is a controversial figure for a variety of reasons. Not least among them is the allegation of sexual assault, which was made public during Mr. Hegseth's nomination. But credible allegations, sadly, don't sink powerful men, and Mr. Hegseth was no different. However, what might sink his career is not what he's allegedly done to a woman who can't come forward. This time, it might be his incompetence and arrogance as he has seemingly put the nation's servicemembers at risk with his handling of sensitive material.
It was a strange and disturbing day when the Atlantic's Editor-in-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed that he'd been added to a Signal chat that seemingly involved high-ranking officials plotting a military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen. The revelation, which Goldberg released on March 24th, set off a shockwave as it showed U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz accidentally adding a high-ranking journalist in Goldberg to a group chat that, despite what the administration may claim, is nowhere near as secure as official government channels.
This mistake prompted the administration to falsely claim that there was no classified material in the chat, with the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, making the claim under oath. The administration's attempts to discredit the Atlantic's reporting backfired spectacularly. The Atlantic called their bluff, publishing additional material showing a timetable posted in the signal chat, which seemingly showed when the planned strikes on the Houthis would occur.
As Goldberg and Harris note, Mr. Hegseth gave detailed information about strikes, saying:
"At 11:44 a.m. Eastern time, Mr. Hegseth posted in the chat, in all caps, “TEAM UPDATE:”
The text beneath this began, “TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch.” Centcom, or Central Command, is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East. The Hegseth text continues:
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).” "
To put this into perspective, the secretary of defense, along with several other high-ranking officials, such as the Vice-President, the National Security Adviser, and the Director of National Intelligence, were sharing sensitive details on a social media application about an ongoing mission that, if leaked, could have gotten American servicemembers killed. Then, after they foolishly added a journalist from a major publication and he called them out for it, they lied through their teeth, only for the exact timetable to be made public.
Absurdity after absurdity
To say this is demented is an understatement, but it is even more absurd because now we know there was another group chat where Mr. Hegseth allegedly shared details about a planned attack involving F/A-18 Hornets against Houthi rebels. Unlike the previously disclosed chat, this chat was created by Mr. Hegseth himself.
Further complicating the picture is that Mr. Hegseth's wife, brother, and several other members of his personal associates were all in this chat. Even worse is that he used his personal phone to organize this chat. While the chat was initially used to discuss various organizing processes and started around the time of his nomination process, Mr. Hegseth shared sensitive material while he was sharing material about the Houthi operations in the first-revealed group chat. In other words, he didn't risk sensitive material once but twice within the same month.
There is no excuse for this. Two figures in this chat, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, were recently fired for leaking sensitive information, and if even remotely classified material was shared, that data could have been leaked to America's enemies in the United States and abroad. This is unacceptable.
Resign Mr. Hegseth
The fact that Mr. Hegseth has done this twice is reason enough to remove him from his position. He can't be trusted to uphold the security of the United States. Whenever Mr. Hegseth disregards the safety of the people under his command, he demonstrates that he is unfit for his current office. He is morally and strategically inadequate. No reasonable person should look at what Mr. Hegseth has done and may continue to do without outrage. America's men and women deserve better than to have their lives put on the line needlessly like this just so the Trump administration can avoid a political headache.
If Mr. Hegseth doesn't resign, which he is unlikely to do, he must be removed. America's national security depends on it.
References
Chappell, Bill. 2024. “Police Report Gives Details, Timeline of the Sexual Assault Claim against Pete Hegseth.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/11/21/nx-s1-5199630/police-report-gives-details-timeline-of-the-sexual-assault-claim-against-pete-hegseth (April 21, 2025).
Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Jake Tapper, Haley Britzky, Zachary. 2025. “Hegseth Shared Detailed Military Plans in Second Signal Chat That Included His Wife and Brother | CNN Politics.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/20/politics/hegseth-second-signal-chat-military-plans/index.html (April 20, 2025).
Farley, Robert. 2025. “Was the Signal Chat Illegal?” FactCheck.org. https://www.factcheck.org/2025/03/was-the-signal-chat-illegal/ (April 21, 2025).
Faulders, Katherine, James Hill, and Laura Romero. 2025. “Judge in Abrego Garcia Case Blasts DOJ’s Inaction, Orders Officials to Testify under Oath.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-digs-case-wrongly-deported-maryland-man/story?id=120822855 (April 21, 2025).
Feuer, Alan. 2025. “Watchdog Group Asks Judge to Preserve Signal Chats by Top Trump Officials.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/politics/trump-officials-signal-chats-hegseth-leak.html (April 21, 2025).
“Gabbard and Ratcliffe Say Yemen Strike Chat Did Not Have Classified Information.” https://www.nbcnews.com/video/gabbard-and-ratcliffe-say-yemen-strike-chat-did-not-have-classified-information-235294277721 (April 21, 2025).
Goldberg, Jeffrey. 2025. “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/ (April 21, 2025).
Goldberg, Jeffrey, and Shane Harris. 2025. “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/ (April 21, 2025).
Jaffe, Greg, Eric Schmitt, and Maggie Haberman. 2025. “Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/hegseth-yemen-attack-second-signal-chat.html (April 21, 2025).
Saul, Stephanie. 2025. “Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Threats to Cut Funding.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/harvard-lawsuit-trump-administration.html (April 21, 2025).
