Egypt Daily News – Before U.S. fighter jets launched strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen last month, General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, used a secure U.S. government system to send detailed operational information to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Kurilla’s message included sensitive data such as the timing of jet departures and expected arrival at targets, details that could have seriously endangered the pilots had they fallen into the wrong hands.
Kurilla was fulfilling his duty by informing Hegseth using a secure, classified system, according to NBC News. However, Hegseth reportedly used his personal phone to forward some of the same information via Signal messaging app to at least two group chats, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
This previously undisclosed sequence of events raises serious concerns about Hegseth’s handling of sensitive information, though both he and the government insist the materials were not classified.
Sources say less than ten minutes passed between Kurilla’s briefing and Hegseth’s messages. One of the Signal groups included other Cabinet-level officials and, inadvertently, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. The second group reportedly included Hegseth’s wife, brother, lawyer, and several aides.
Pete Hegseth shared the information on Signal despite one of his aides having warned him days earlier against using unsecured platforms for sensitive communications, according to two insiders.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the allegations, calling them “an attempt to undermine President Donald Trump and Secretary Hegseth,” and insisted that “no classified material was shared via Signal.”
Trump’s appointment of Hegseth a former Fox News host, raised eyebrows among Democrats and some Republicans who questioned his qualifications. Now, following the revelation of the Signal chat involving Hegseth’s family, first reported Sunday by The New York Times, pressure is mounting for his dismissal, despite Trump’s continued support.
Speaking at the White House Easter celebration on Monday, Trump said, “Pete is doing a fantastic job. Everyone is happy with him. There’s no issue.”
Hegseth also pushed back during the event, dismissing the reports without directly denying them. “This is what the media does,” he said. “It won’t work on me, because we’re reforming the Department of Defense, returning the Pentagon to the warriors, and we don’t care about anonymous smears from disgruntled former staff.”
But at least one Republican is breaking ranks. On Monday, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a retired Air Force general and member of the House Armed Services Committee, became the first GOP lawmaker to publicly call on Hegseth to resign.
“I had concerns from the beginning because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon said. “I like him on Fox News, but does he have the qualifications to run one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s concerning.”
Two of Trump’s advisors, speaking anonymously, said there were no current plans to fire Hegseth. “There’s no talk of removing or replacing him,” one said. “We’ve been through this before, and at this point, that’s not happening.” The second added, “The idea that this would force him out is unrealistic. The president still supports him.”
A senior official from Trump’s first administration, also speaking anonymously, expressed surprise at Hegseth’s decision to share strike-related information with his family.
“I can’t imagine any national security official would consider it appropriate to share sensitive policy and planning details with family members who have no need to know, let alone via an unclassified messaging app,” the former official said.
