WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created another Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen鈥檚 Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders, The New York Times reported.
A person familiar with the contents and those who received the messages, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed the second chat to The Associated Press.
The second chat on Signal 鈥 which is a not authorized to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defense information 鈥 included 13 people, the person said. The person also confirmed the chat was dubbed 鈥淒efense ’ Team Huddle.鈥
The New York Times reported that the group included Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, who is a former Fox News producer, and his brother as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser. Both have traveled with the defense secretary and attended high-level meetings.
The White House and Pentagon said late Sunday that disgruntled former employees were spreading false claims.
鈥淣o matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can鈥檛 change the fact that no classified information was shared,鈥 said Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary. 鈥淩ecently-fired 鈥榣eakers鈥 are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President鈥檚 agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.鈥
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell added in late Sunday that the report 鈥渞elied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President鈥檚 agenda. There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.鈥
The revelation of the additional chat group brought new calls for Hegseth to be ousted as President Donald Trump’s administration has faced criticism for so far against the top national security officials who discussed plans for the military strike in Signal.
鈥淭he details keep coming out. We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him,鈥 Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer . 鈥淧ete Hegseth must be fired.鈥
The first chat, set up by national security adviser Mike Waltz, included a number of Cabinet members and because Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was added to the group.
The contents of that chat, which The Atlantic published, shows that Hegseth listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed last month.
Hegseth has previously contended that no classified information or war plans were shared in the chat with the journalist.
The Times reported Sunday that the second chat had the same warplane launch times that the first chat included. Multiple former and current officials have said sharing those operational details before a strike would have certainly been classified and their release could have put pilots in danger.
Hegseth鈥檚 use of Signal and the sharing of such plans are under . It came at the request of the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee 鈥 Republican Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi and ranking Democratic member Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Reed urged the Pentagon watchdog late Sunday to probe the reported second Signal chat as well, saying that Hegseth 鈥渕ust immediately explain why he reportedly texted classified information that could endanger American servicemembers鈥 lives.”
“I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth鈥檚 ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. servicemembers and the Commander-in-Chief,” he added.
The new revelations come during further turmoil at the Pentagon. Four officials in Hegseth鈥檚 inner circle departed last week as the Pentagon conducts a widespread investigation for information leaks.
, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth鈥檚 deputy chief of staff, .
While the three initially had been placed on leave pending the investigation, a on X on Saturday said the three 鈥渟till have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of 鈥榣eaks鈥 to begin with.”
Caldwell was the staff member designated as Hegseth鈥檚 point person in the with Trump Cabinet members.
Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also announced he was resigning last week, unrelated to the leaks. The Pentagon said, however, that Ullyot was asked to resign.
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AP writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
