House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth should be “fired immediately,” accusing him of jeopardizing national security by disclosing sensitive military plans in an unsecured communication channel that included a journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter addressed to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Jeffries described Hegseth as \u201cthe most unqualified Secretary of Defense in American history,\u201d and said his continued presence in the role \u201cthreatens the nation\u2019s security and puts our brave men and women in uniform throughout the world in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffries said Hegseth \u201crecklessly and casually disclosed highly sensitive war plans\u2014including the timing of a pending attack, possible strike targets and the weapons to be used\u2014during an unclassified national security group chat that inexplicably included a reporter.\u201d He concluded by saying \u201cSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth should be fired immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House rejected Jeffries call. \u201cPresident Trump has assembled an all-star national security team that continues to deliver win after win for the American people at home and abroad,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHakeem Jeffries should spend more time figuring out how to lead his caucus than weighing in on the administration that\u2019s leading our country out of the mess that Joe Biden and Democrats got us in,\u201d Desai added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview Tuesday night on Fox News<\/a>, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz took responsibility for the incident, saying, \u201cI take full responsibility. I built the [Signal] group, my job is to make sure everything is coordinated.\u201d He acknowledged a mistake had been made but said they were \u201cmoving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waltz also criticized Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who had inadvertently been added to the group chat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not a conspiracy theorist,\u201d Waltz said during the interview, \u201cbut somehow\u2026 this guy who has lied about the President\u2026 is the one that, somehow, hits on somebody\u2019s contact and then gets sucked into this group.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that he initially did not recognize Goldberg\u2019s name in the group and that \u201cwhether he did it deliberately, or it happened in some other technical mean is something we are trying to figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n