Elfreth Calls for Congressional Hearings, Investigation, and Hegseth Firing

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for the firing of Secretary Pete Hegseth, in light of recent reporting in The Atlantic that the Secretary and senior Administration officials carried out highly classified military operations in an unofficial and unsecure messaging app. Elfreth has also called for Congressional hearings and an independent investigation. 

“This is totally unacceptable. The people most entrusted with keeping our servicemembers and our most sensitive secrets safe utterly failed—then they lied about it. Secretary Pete Hegseth should be fired for this heinous security breach,” said Congresswoman Elfreth. “I’m also calling for Congressional hearings and an independent investigation of the dangerous and inexcusable sharing of classified information of war plans in an unofficial and unsecure messaging app. I sincerely hope my Republican colleagues will join us in doing everything in our power to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.”

Elfreth joined all other House Armed Services Committee Democrats in writing to Republican Chairman Mike Rogers, calling on him to convene a hearing with Secretary Hegseth to testify about recent reports in The Atlantic. She expressed deep concerns that Secretary Hegseth and other senior Trump Administration officials conferred about a highly sensitive national security matter, including “precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing” via the open-source Signal messaging service, which could have jeopardized the safety of U.S. service members and compromised the military operation. The full letter is available HERE.

Elfreth also wrote to Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, Director Gabbard, and Mr. Waltz alongside 69 House Democrats, calling for full and willing cooperation in any forthcoming hearings or investigations. The full letter is available HERE.

Elfreth’s initial reaction to the news is available HERE.

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