Press Releases

Senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24), led a group of 69 House Democrats in a letter to National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the incredible incompetence displayed by their use of Signal to communicate highly sensitive national security information.

“The Trump Administration’s national security team demonstrated incredible incompetence and carelessness by using Signal to communicate highly sensitive national security information,” said Rep. Carbajal. “These reckless actions not only jeopardized the safety of our country, but it also put the lives of servicemembers at risk. Secure communication channels are essential to protecting our national security, and the use of platforms like Signal to communicate highly classified information is a clear failure in safeguarding the trust placed in our government. There must be accountability for this dangerous lapse in judgment, starting with the immediate resignation of Secretary Hegseth. We cannot afford to allow this negligence to go unaddressed.”

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

The letter was also signed by: Representatives Veronica Escobar, Marilyn Strickland, Sarah Elfreth, Derek Tran, Brad Sherman, Greg Stanton, LaMonica McIver, Patrick Ryan, Gilbert Cisneros, Jr., Norma Torres, Ritchie Torres, Jonathan Jackson, Mark Pocan, Gabe Vasquez, Jill Tokuda, Brendan Boyle, Juan Vargas, Nydia Velázquez, Rick Larsen, Luis Correa, Brittany Pettersen, Robin Kelly, Jan Schakowsky, James McGovern, Sarah McBride, Dave Min, Wesley Bell, Nellie Pou, Jared Huffman, André  Carson, Steve Cohen, Nikema Williams, Raul Ruiz, Jim Costa, Mark Takano, Madeleine Dean, Julie Johnson, Marc Veasey, Sara Jacobs, Yassamin Ansari, Val Hoyle, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, George Latimer, Dina Titus, Darren Soto, Chris Pappas, Ted Lieu, Judy Chu, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Mike Levin, Glenn Ivey, Dwight Evans, Melanie Stansbury, Jerrod Nadler, Marcy Kaptur, Mikie Sherrill, Yvette Clarke, Paul Tonko, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Robert Menendez, Maggie Goodlander, Bradley Schneider, Eric Swalwell, Jennifer McClellan, Vicente Gonzalez, John Garamendi, Alma Adams, Janelle Bynum, and Teresa Ledger Fernandez.

March 26, 2025

Dear Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, Director Gabbard, and Mr. Waltz,

We write to express grave concern over your handling of sensitive information regarding military operations in Yemen and potential risks to our servicemembers carrying out this mission. The Atlantic reported that their Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat on March 13 titled “Houthi PC small group.” Fortunately, an American journalist was added and not anyone who could have used this information to cause significant harm to the United States.

As more evidence has come to light, the misconduct in the group chat has become further undefendable and inexcusable. You all jeopardized the lives of servicemembers. There must be accountability starting with the immediate resignation of Secretary Hegseth.

The degree of incompetence, carelessness, and irresponsibility is difficult to underscore. It is incomprehensible that the heads of the world’s most powerful government were unknowingly sharing secret military plans and knowingly using an unsecure communications method to do so. A bad actor or foreign contact could have easily been added to this Signal group instead of Mr. Goldberg. This experience was so absurd that Mr. Goldberg thought it more likely to be a disinformation campaign or artificial intelligence than several key members of our government, many who sit on the National Security Council.

This encounter calls into question the way in which this operation was discussed. It was reported that classified or highly sensitive information was being shared over Signal. Information that if leaked to the wrong sources could have resulted in dire national security consequences. As the article goes on to state, there are legitimate questions on whether laws like the Espionage Act or laws on preserving official federal records were violated.

If you had not added a non-government individual to this Signal group, then this breach would never have come to light. This does not inspire confidence that other classified communications have been handled through proper channels or that this national security team is taking these issues seriously.

We hope you understand the gravity of this situation. The decisions you make have a significant impact on our national security and the safety of our servicemembers. We will be demanding accountability and transparency in what transpired. For the sake of our national security, we ask that you fully and willingly cooperate with Congress in any forthcoming hearings or investigations.