Hegseth’s job security reportedly in question after second Signal leak scandal

This comes days after reports that Hegseth shared details of U.S. air strike campaign in Yemen with his wife and brother via a Signal messenger chat.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, denied that President Donald Trump is looking to replace the secretary. In a Twitter, she called the NPR report “a completely fabricated story based on a single anonymous source who clearly has no idea what he’s talking about.” Leavitt also added that the president supports Hegseth.

On April 20, The New York Times reported that Hegseth allegedly shared classified information about Yemen airstrikes with his “inner circle” on Signal. According to the story, Hegseth created a chat including about 10 people—among them his wife, a former Fox News employee, and two Pentagon officials who were later removed over the leak.

On March 24, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeff Goldberg said he was inadvertently added to a Signal chat in which senior Trump administration officials discussed preparations for air strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen. Hegseth later claimed the chat contained no classified information and “no names or locations.”