Durbin Statement On DOD IG’s Report On ‘Signalgate,’ Determination That Secretary Hegseth Endangered U.S. Service Members

Durbin Statement On DOD IG's Report On 'Signalgate,' Determination That Secretary Hegseth Endangered U.S. Service Members

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD IG) report which concluded that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth endangered the lives of American service members by discussing military operations via unsecured text chains:

"Today's DOD Inspector General report reinforces what we already knew to be true: Secretary Hegseth does not have the good judgement required of the person tasked with leading the U.S. Department of Defense. By recklessly shooting off about classified war plans in two separate group chats - one of which included his wife and brother - on a commercial messaging app, Secretary Hegseth risked the lives of American service members.

"Secretary Hegseth has proved, yet again, that my vote against his confirmation was the right choice."

In March, Durbin joined U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and top Senate Democrats on national security committees in sending a letter to President Trump for answers after The Atlantic revealed that an unsecured text chain with at least 18 senior-level Trump administration officials was used to coordinate and share classified information about sensitive military planning and operations.

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