President Trump said he "stood behind" Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even as the Pentagon’s inspector general opens a probe into reports that Hegseth shared sensitive details of a March 15 raid on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group via the unclassified messaging app Signal. "Pete’s doing a great job. Everybody’s happy with him," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Oh, totally," he added when asked if he still had confidence in his defense chief.
The leak marks Hegseth’s second stumble with operational security. According to Reuters, Hegseth circulated the attack plan in a Signal group set up during his Senate confirmation, which included about a dozen members: his wife, brother (a DHS liaison to the Pentagon), a personal lawyer and other aides. The chat was meant for administrative coordination rather than detailed military planning.
The episode comes amid a larger internal probe into recent Pentagon leaks that saw senior officials ousted last week. Earlier this month, the Pentagon inspector general announced an inquiry into Hegseth’s use of Signal to coordinate on the March 15 strike, highlighting mounting concerns over unsecured communication channels for high-level military operations.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt dismissed reports from National Public Radio that the Trump administration was searching for a new defense secretary. Meanwhile, the U.S. military has intensified its bombing campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen over the past few months, raising the stakes for secure command-and-control processes.
As Hegseth navigates the fallout, digital security experts warn that reliance on unclassified apps for planning complex operations could undermine trust and readiness. All eyes are now on the inspector general’s findings to see whether this leak will reshape how the Pentagon handles top-secret information in the digital age.
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Trump stands behind Hegseth after attack plans shared in Signal chat
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