Social media is in uproar as demands for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign intensify after reports revealed that highly classified military plans were accidentally shared in a text group chat, which included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. The leaked messages contained sensitive details about upcoming strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, and were meant to be shared only with high-level officials.
The group chat on the Signal app, called “Houthi PC Small Group Chat,” was supposed to include figures like Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Hegseth. But somehow, Goldberg—who is not a government official—was added to the thread. In one of the messages, titled “TEAM UPDATE,” Hegseth provided information on the targets, weapons, and sequencing of the March 15 attack in Yemen.
The leak has raised alarms over national security, and many are calling for accountability. “You need to resign. You are grossly incompetent,” one social media user demanded. “By your definition of DEI, you are the ultimate DEI hire.” Others were equally furious, with one post saying, “If this doesn’t get you fired, nothing does.”
Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, also weighed in, criticizing the Trump administration for using Signal—a supposedly secure messaging app—to discuss military operations. Warner pointed out that national security adviser Mike Waltz and Hegseth didn’t “conduct hygiene 101” by failing to realize a journalist was in the chat.
Warner didn’t hold back in his criticism. “There’s plenty of declassified information that shows that our adversaries, China and Russia, are trying to break into encrypted systems,” Warner said during a Senate hearing. “If this was the case of a military officer or an intelligence officer and they had this kind of behavior, they would be fired.”
The senator called the whole incident a “sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior” and added that this wasn’t the first time such a breach had happened. “Classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system.”
As he began his opening remarks, Warner called on the two Trump officials to step down: “When the stakes are this high, incompetence is not an option. Pete Hegseth should resign. Mike Waltz should resign,” he wrote.
“Everybody on this committee gets briefed on security protocols. They’re told you don’t make calls outside of SCIFs,” Warner said, referencing the secure facilities used to discuss classified information.
“No, the Signal fiasco is not a one-off. It is unfortunately a pattern we’re seeing too often repeated,” he added. “The erosion of trust among the intelligence workforce and allies across the globe can’t be put back in the bottle overnight.”
“Make no mistake, these actions make America less safe,” Warner concluded.
At hearing with top intelligence leaders, Sen. Mark Warner slams "mind-boggling" behavior of Trump officials sharing sensitive war plans in unsecured chat.
"If this was the case of a military officer or an intelligence officer … they would be fired." https://t.co/TGbE6dO7pw pic.twitter.com/tlDKVC5Ccc
— ABC News (@ABC) March 25, 2025
President Donald Trump tried to save face by dismissing the incident after hearing about it for the first time. “I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic,” Trump said, attempting to deflect from the issue. “To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business.”
But despite the president’s dismissal, calls for Hegseth’s resignation continue to grow. As one user put it, “If this doesn’t get you fired, nothing does.”
