U.S. intelligence chiefs are scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, a day after it emerged that senior Trump administration officials had shared classified war plans in an encrypted group chat that also included a journalist, in an extraordinary breach of American national security.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence; John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director; and Kash Patel, the head of the F.B.I., were scheduled to give lawmakers their first public “Worldwide Threat Assessment” of President Trump’s second term, but the hearing was likely to be overshadowed by sharp questioning from Democrats over the security breach.
Democrats and some Republicans say the sharing of war plans with a journalist was a serious error. And defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “nobody was texting” classified U.S. attack plans using a messaging app. “Why were those details shared on Signal?” “Nobody was texting war plans.” “I know nothing about it. You’re saying that they had, what?” “They were using Signal to coordinate on sensitive materials.” “I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time. Anybody else?”
The White House confirmed on Monday that Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, had discussed plans for military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen in a group chat on the Signal messaging app that included the journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, two hours before U.S. troops launched the attacks. Mr. Goldberg had detailed the breach in an article for The Atlantic, where he is editor in chief.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, said on social media that the episode showed the Trump administration was “playing fast and loose with our nation’s most classified info, and it makes all Americans less safe.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who also serves on the intelligence committee, assailed the Trump administration for its “recklessness.” “Our service members need competent leadership,” she wrote on social media. “Their lives depend on it.”
Some Democratic committee members called for Mr. Hegseth to face questions before Congress. Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico said that Mr. Hegseth should explain how “such an irresponsible, reckless and likely illegal breach” had happened.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican of Maine who also sits on the intelligence committee, said it was “extremely troubling and serious” that Trump administration officials had discussed classified information on an unapproved messaging platform.
Other Republicans offered a more muted assessment. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana brushed off the episode, calling it “a mistake.”