Pentagon chief Hegseth shared Houthi attack plans in second Signal chat, report says

Leading Senate Democrat says Donald Trump should fire Pete Hegseth

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth faces renewed criticism over his use of the Signal messaging app. AFP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth came under renewed scrutiny on Sunday after it was reported that he shared detailed information about an attack against Yemen's Houthi rebels in a second chat on the unclassified messaging app Signal.

Last month, it emerged Mr Hegseth had shared a detailed timeline on Signal about how US Central Command would attack the Iran-backed Houthis. One of the people in the chat was a journalist who had been inadvertently added to the group conversation, an embarrassing incident that involved all of US President Donald Trump's most senior national security officials.

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Mr Hegseth shared information including the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets attacking the Houthis in Yemen in a March 15 strike, again on Signal. This time the chat included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, the Times said, quoting four people.

The Times said that, unlike the accidental leak where journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly included in the group, this group chat was created by Mr Hegseth. He named the chat “Defense / Team Huddle” and used his private phone, not his government device, to access Signal, the outlet reported.

The revelation of the additional chat group brought new criticism against Mr Hegseth and the Trump administration, which so far has failed to take action against any of the senior national security officials who discussed plans for the military strike on Signal.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said “there was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they [the media] try to write the story”.

“The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times – and all other fake news that repeat their garbage – are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article,” he said.

The Senate's senior Democrat demanded that the Pentagon chief be dismissed.

“We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X. “But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”

Also on Sunday, John Ullyot, who served as chief Pentagon spokesman under Mr Hegseth until resigning last week, wrote a scathing op-ed in Politico about Mr Hegseth's handling of the Defence Department.

“It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon,” he wrote. “From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership.”

The firings were a reference to the dismissals last week of four of Mr Hegseth's advisers amid investigations into leaks.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.