WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) and U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC)—along with SVAC Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) called out the White House for declaring SignalGate—the most devastating and significant national security breach in years—“case-closed” without holding any senior Administration officials responsible for leaking classified information through an unclassified communications channel, putting the lives of our servicemembers at greater risk. In her remarks, Duckworth called on Republicans to join her in demanding congressional hearings and an independent investigation to look into the Trump officials on the Signal chat—urging her colleagues on the other side of the aisle to remember that they serve the people of this country, not Donald Trump’s ego. Full video of the presser is available on Twitter/X, Facebook and Senator Duckworth’s YouTube.
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“It is outrageous that Donald Trump is trying to sweep SignalGate under the rug—declaring this egregious national security breach ‘case closed’ with absolutely no repercussions for anyone involved—after Pete Hegseth and others in the Administration put our troops—and our national security—at even greater risk,” said Senator Duckworth. “If Republicans actually care about our troops like they proclaim, they must do the bare minimum and join me in demanding an independent investigation as well as hearings looking into every official who was on that Signal chat—and Trump must fire Hegseth immediately for leaking classified information. With each second Hegseth remains Secretary of Defense, his incompetence emboldens our adversaries, weakens our national security and makes Americans less safe.”
“The Trump Administration’s reckless Signal chat security breach is appalling and chillingly dangerous to our military men and women,” said Senator Blumenthal. “This shocking and dangerous failure to maintain operational security at the highest levels of leadership demands accountability. While the White House is turning a blind eye to the Trump Cabinet’s carelessness with classified information—claiming it’s “case closed”—many questions remain and the American people deserve answers. Our Republican colleagues need to step up and face up to this breakdown in security that put our pilots at unacceptable higher risk. Until then, I will continue to call for a comprehensive criminal investigation into how this security breach occurred and demand that Secretary Hegseth and Waltz resign.”
“As someone who has planned and executed strikes off an aircraft carrier, I know there is no more sensitive information than the time on target for aircraft conducting a military strike over hostile territory,” said Senator Kelly. “The lack of accountability from those in this chat—and from the White House—isn’t just reprehensible, it’s dangerous. The American people deserve answers, and our servicemembers deserve leadership that protects them, not politics that puts them in harm’s way.”
“The Signal chat security breach reaffirms what we have known all along—that Trump’s national security officials are fundamentally unfit to serve,” said Senator Hirono. “Sharing attack plans, timing, and targets on devices that may well be compromised by adversaries endangered the lives of our servicemembers. Despite jeopardizing our national security, no one involved in this debacle has offered any assurance that this will not happen again or taken accountability for their actions. That is unacceptable. Democrats will continue working to understand exactly how this grave security breach happened and hold those responsible for this fiasco accountable.”
Since he was first nominated, Duckworth has made it clear that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is unqualified to lead our men and women in uniform. During Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, Duckworth demonstrated some of the areas where he lacks the experience or knowledge that any serious Defense Secretary nominee should have, grilling him on basic questions that he failed to answer. She asked him if he ever led an audit, and he would not confirm. She asked him to describe at least one of the main international security agreements a Secretary of Defense is responsible for leading, and he could not name any. She asked him to name at least one nation that is a part of ASEAN, an organization with several member states that have mutual defense treaties, alliances or enhanced defense cooperation agreements with the US, but none of the three countries he named are part of the organization.
After The Atlantic reported that Hegseth sent classified war plans in a Signal group chat with other Trump Administration officials, putting the lives of our men and women in uniform at greater risk and undermining the effectiveness of the mission, Duckworth released a statement demanding his resignation and calling him a “f*cking liar.”
Last week, Duckworth joined fellow SASC member Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and 14 other Senate colleagues in calling on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), SASC and SFRC to hold hearings to investigate why members of President Trump’s national security team were recklessly discussing classified military operations on unsecured devices. In the letter, the Senators also criticized the incompetence and carelessness of how these Trump officials mishandled the situation and inadvertently added a journalist to the group chat. Additionally, Duckworth joined Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and 12 of her colleagues in demanding answers from President Trump about what disciplinary action will be taken in response to SignalGate and emphasized that the Administration is in direct violation of the Presidential Records Act.
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