KEY POINTS
- A journalist revealed this week that he was added into a group chat where Trump officials discussed Yemen strikes
- Trump said the exchanges within the group chat were 'not serious' but Gabbard admitted there was talk on Yemeni 'targets in general'
- Democratic senators want Hegseth and Waltz to step down from their positions, citing the severity of their carelessness
Democratic leaders are out for blood after the fallout from the revelation that some top Trump cabinet officials used commercial messaging app Signal to discuss U.S. military strikes against Yemeni Houthi rebels.
Some Democratic lawmakers said resignations are necessary at this point, given the severity of the situation.
Signal: A Commercial Messaging App Used by Trump Officials
Signal wasn't even at fault, and yet it was dragged into the mess after The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was added into a Signal group chat where seemingly classified information was discussed among some top Trump cabinet officials.
Goldberg said he was shocked to find out that Trump officials were discussing plans for Houthi attacks via an unsecure channel.
The U.S. president has since downplayed the matter, saying the communications on the group chat were "not serious," but he did acknowledge that his officials have "learned a lesson" from the debacle that triggered a slew of negative comments from X users due to national security concerns.
Dems Ask Trump Officials Involved in the Incident to Step Down
During a Senate intelligence hearing Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said he is "of the view that there ought to be resignations" among the top ranks of U.S. President Donald Trump's cabinet.
Wyden said the resignation spree must start with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Wyden: "I'm of the view that there ought to be resignations, starting with the national security adviser and the secretary of defense." pic.twitter.com/nK3At6cetd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 25, 2025
Sen. Mark Warner said ahead of the intel hearing that he personally thinks "Hegseth should resign for putting forward these military plans on this unsecure channel." He added that "Waltz should resign since he was the person who didn't even bother to check" the names of the people included in the Signal group chat.
This Signal chat situation sheds light on a sloppy and grossly incompetent national security strategy from the Trump admin. pic.twitter.com/xvQ4THQCLA
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 25, 2025
Sen. Mark Kelly previously criticized the "White House staff" for supposedly using Signal to discuss American war planning. "Your recklessness put the lives of those pilots at risk," he said, referring to the pilots who carried out the recent strikes on Yemeni Houthi rebels.
During the hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard admitted that there was "a discussion of targets in general," when Kelly pressed him whether Trump officials discussed specific targets in Yemen within the group chat.
Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, admitted that targets for the strike were discussed in the Signal chain.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) March 25, 2025
Our adversaries would go to great lengths to get this type of information and US security officials discussed it in an unsecured group chat without… pic.twitter.com/tRmmgYUtIG
It remains to be seen whether Hegseth or Waltz will step down amid increasing calls for accountability in one of the most controversial security incidents since Trump took power earlier this year.
