Democrats have demanded US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth resign as they grilled CIA chief John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on the second day of the hearing of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee amid the fallout from inclusion of a journalist in a secret group discussion of sensitive attack plans.
"I think that it's by the awesome grace of God that we are not mourning dead pilots right now," Democrat Jim Himes of Connecticut said at a hearing of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
"Everyone here knows that the Russians and the Chinese could have gotten all of that information," Himes said.
Both Gabbard and Ratcliff faced more questioning about how Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a group chat in which they discussed American military strikes in Yemen, with Democrats arguing the exposure could have jeopardised the mission's success or endangered US service members' lives.
"This is classified information," Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois said, calling for Hegseth's resignation. "It's a weapons system as well as sequence of strikes, as well as details about the operations."
Krishnamoorthi added: "He needs to resign immediately."
"It is completely outrageous to me that administration officials come before us today with impunity, no acceptance of responsibility," said Representative Jason Crow of Colorado.
He said Hegseth "must resign immediately. There can be no fixes; there can be no corrections until there is accountability."
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, discloses he was included in a group chat discussing plans for strikes against Yemen's Houthis.
Democrats, CIA director clash
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee also rejected assertions by Gabbard and Ratcliffe that no classified material was included in the chat. They pointed another batch of chat messages released by The Atlantic on Wednesday as evidence of the major security lapse.
On Wednesday, new screenshots released by the Atlantic, showed Hegseth texted the start time for the planned killing of a Houthi fighter in Yemen on March 15 along with details of further US air strikes that would normally be closely guarded secrets.
The questioning of Ratcliffe descended into yelling as a California Democrat asked the CIA director whether Hegseth "had been drinking before he leaked classified information".
"I think that's an offensive line of questioning," Ratcliffe told Representative Jimmy Gomez. “The answer is no."
Ratcliffe and Gomez then began shouting over each other as Gomez tried to follow up.
"We want to know if his performance is compromised," Gomez said.
President Trump’s team downplays concerns over Hegseth’s Signal messages revealing US strike details in Yemen. While officials insist no sensitive info was leaked, the Pentagon remains silent on key details of the operation.
Gabbard admits 'mistake'
Gabbard acknowledged before the House Intelligence Committee that the texts contained "candid and sensitive" discussions but said again that no classified information was included.
"It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added," Gabbard said.
Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Hegseth, national security adviser Michael Waltz and other top national security officials were on the chat, which included the times of warplane launches and other actions.
Waltz has taken responsibility. Trump called it "a glitch."
Separately, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats wrote to Trump and his top officials urging a Justice Department probe into the incident.
"We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors," the Democratic senators wrote in Wednesday's letter.
Trump said his administration would look into the use of Signal but voiced support for his national security team.
Waltz, who organised the Signal chat, said in an interview with Fox News: "I take full responsibility" for the breach, but that no classified information was shared.
