{"id":1052191,"date":"2025-03-24T17:19:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T21:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1052191"},"modified":"2025-03-24T17:19:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T21:19:29","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-new-trumps-unfit-and-unqualified-defense-secretary-exposed-critical-military-secrets-risking-service-members-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%f0%9f%9a%a8-new-trumps-unfit-and-unqualified-defense-secretary-exposed-critical-military-secrets-risking-service-members-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 NEW: Trump\u2019s Unfit and Unqualified Defense Secretary Exposed Critical Military Secrets, Risking Service Members\u2019 Safety\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth exposing critical military plans and risking America\u2019s national security,<\/em> DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPete Hegseth was unfit to lead the Defense Department even before he risked our national security through his own sloppy handling of sensitive military information. Just like his boss Donald Trump, Hegseth \u2013 and everyone else involved \u2013 put on a stunning display of recklessness and disregard for our national security. Hegseth should resign, and if he doesn\u2019t resign, he should be fired. It\u2019s crystal clear that our men and women in uniform deserve better \u2013 and that our national security cannot be left in Hegseth\u2019s incompetent and unqualified hands.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: Trump\u2019s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth exposed critical military operation details, risking active-duty service members\u2019 safety. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Atlantic<\/a>: \u201cThe Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo days later\u2014Thursday\u2014at 4:28 p.m., I received a notice that I was to be included in a Signal chat group. It was called the \u2018Houthi PC small group.\u2019 \u2026
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt 11:44 a.m., the account labeled \u2018Pete Hegseth\u2019 posted in Signal<\/strong> a \u2018TEAM UPDATE.\u2019 I will not quote from this update, or from certain other subsequent texts. The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel<\/strong>, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command\u2019s area of responsibility. What I will say, in order to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that the Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen<\/strong>, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrian Hughes, the spokesman for the National Security Council<\/strong>, responded two hours later, confirming the veracity of the Signal group<\/strong>. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[B]y coordinating a national-security-related action over Signal<\/strong>, [they] may have violated several provisions of the Espionage Act<\/strong>, which governs the handling of \u2018national defense\u2019 information, according to several national-security lawyers interviewed by my colleague Shane Harris for this story.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to his confirmation, Republicans and military leaders raised concerns about Hegseth being the <\/strong>\u201cleast experienced defense secretary\u201d<\/strong><\/a> in U.S. history. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NPR<\/a>: \u201cIf confirmed, he would be the least experienced defense secretary in the history of the republic, <\/strong>going back to Henry Knox, the first secretary of war who was a key officer in Washington\u2019s army. Those who rise to that post often come from Capitol Hill, industry or the highest ranks of the officer corps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cHegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would lead 1.3 million active-duty troops in uniform and more than 750,000 civilians, hold contentious meetings with U.S. allies and develop strike options against the Islamic State and Iranian proxies. And while Hegseth has military experience, he has never run an organization larger than a small nonprofit. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Folks are shocked,\u2019 said a current DOD official. \u2018He\u2019s just a Fox News personality that\u2019s never worked in the government.\u2019 \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018It is a massive bureaucracy, you have to understand how that works to support national security around the globe,\u2019 [another] official added. \u2018It is tedious and challenging and it is not at all related to getting on Fox News and pontificating.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wall Street Journal<\/a>: \u201cRepublican senators said that they want closer scrutiny of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s pick for defense secretary. … The former Fox News host was an unconventional choice for the top Pentagon job, as he has never led a large government agency<\/strong>, but the debate about his qualifications has been overshadowed by allegations related to his personal life.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth\u2019s unfitness to lead extends beyond just inexperience: His reported inappropriate and abusive behavior \u2014 including sexual assault and domestic violence allegations \u2014 raised serious questions about his fitness to manage the Department of Defense.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pete Hegseth<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cA California woman told police that Trump Cabinet pick Pete Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone, and then sexually assaulted her even though she \u2018remembered saying \u201cno\u201d a lot,\u2019<\/strong> a police report obtained by CNN shows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Yorker<\/a>: \u201cA trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran\u2014Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America\u2014in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penelope Hegseth<\/a>: \u201cYou are an abuser of women <\/strong>\u2014 that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. <\/strong>You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cAn ex-sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth\u2019s submitted a sworn statement to senators on Tuesday that accused Mr. Hegseth, President Trump\u2019s nominee for secretary of defense, of being so \u2018abusive\u2019 toward his second wife that she once hid in a closet from him and had a safe word to call for help if she needed to get away from him. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the affidavit, which was sent on Tuesday to the Armed Services panel, Danielle Hegseth wrote that Mr. Hegseth\u2019s second wife, Samantha Hegseth, \u2018once hid in her closet from Hegseth because she feared for her personal safety.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth exposing critical military plans and risking America\u2019s national security, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: \u201cPete Hegseth was unfit to lead the Defense Department even before he risked our national security through his own sloppy handling of sensitive military information. Just like his boss Donald […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":293,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8 NEW: Trump\u2019s Unfit and Unqualified Defense Secretary Exposed Critical Military Secrets, Risking Service Members\u2019 Safety\u00a0 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/\ud83d\udea8-new-trumps-unfit-and-unqualified-defense-secretary-exposed-critical-military-secrets-risking-service-members-safety\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-24T21:19:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-24T21:19:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%f0%9f%9a%a8-new-trumps-unfit-and-unqualified-defense-secretary-exposed-critical-military-secrets-risking-service-members-safety\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%f0%9f%9a%a8-new-trumps-unfit-and-unqualified-defense-secretary-exposed-critical-military-secrets-risking-service-members-safety\/\",\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8 NEW: Trump\u2019s Unfit and Unqualified Defense Secretary Exposed Critical Military Secrets, Risking Service Members\u2019 Safety\u00a0 - 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