New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider (IL-10), Vice Chair for Policy Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and the National Security Working Group, led by Chair Gil Cisneros (CA-31), are calling on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign immediately following the release of additional details related to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s careless and unconscionable communication of war plans on a non-secure commercial messaging service, that accidentally included a reporter:

New Dem Chair Brad Schneider (IL-10), Vice Chair Nikki Budzinski and National Security Working Group Chair Gil Cisneros issued the following statement:

“The Administration can’t deny reality or facts. We have clear proof the Secretary of Defense shared detailed war plans – including the exact timing, ordnance, and targets of a high-stakes military strike – in a non-secure Signal group chat, and in doing so put the lives of American servicemembers and intelligence officers in grave danger.

“The level of carelessness and incompetence displayed by the Administration’s top national security and defense officials is completely unacceptable. Any additional attempts by the Administration to downplay or excuse the seriousness of Secretary Hegseth’s actions will further endanger the integrity of our armed forces and our nation’s security.

“We have lost what little faith we had in the ability of the Secretary of Defense to carry out his duties – as have the American people. 

“Secretary Hegseth must resign immediately. And if he doesn’t resign, he should be fired.”

ICYMI: New Dem Reps. Adam Smith (WA-09), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Jim Himes (CT-04), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; sent a letter to President Trump’s National Security team demanding answers to questions stemming from a report in The Atlantic that asserts the team texted sensitive and potentially classified information, including plans for the United States’ military action against Houthi targets on March 15th two hours before the operation, over an unclassified messaging app.

In the letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, the Ranking Members wrote: “We are deeply troubled by the report in The Atlantic that you and other Trump Administration officials conferred about highly sensitive national security matters, including ‘precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing’ concerning pending military actions against the Houthis, via the open-source Signal messaging service. We are especially concerned that the reported deliberations may have constituted a security breach… . These actions could have compromised the operational security of, and by implication the safety of the service members involved in, the related military activities.”