Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly disclosed intricate details of a military operation targeting the Houthis in Yemen via a second Signal group chat, this one accessed through his personal phone and involving his wife, legal counsel, and brother, according to reports.
Originally formed during Hegseth’s contentious confirmation hearings as a backchannel for close confidants to coordinate strategy, the chat continued to be active even after his confirmation, with more than a dozen participants remaining in the loop, sources said.
This latest disclosure adds to growing unease among some of Hegseth’s former top aides, who have begun questioning his decision-making abilities. Among them are his ex-press secretary, John Ullyot, and three senior officials recently dismissed by Hegseth – top adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, former chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary.
“It’s been a month of absolute mayhem at the Pentagon – from sensitive military plans being exposed to sweeping staff purges,” Ullyot stated. The dysfunction is now distracting the president, who deserves far better from his senior leadership.”
This second chat group is separate from the Signal thread Hegseth used last month to relay military planning to Cabinet-level officials, a communication channel now under review by the Defense Department’s acting inspector general.
As with the first chat, which came to light when The Atlantic’s editor was accidentally added by national security adviser Mike Waltz, the second thread also included discussions on airstrikes against the Houthis, sources confirmed.
While Hegseth’s brother Phil and attorney Tim Parlatore are both employed by the Department of Defense, his wife, Jennifer, holds no official role, though she was regularly involved in early meetings with foreign dignitaries. It remains unclear whether all members of the second Signal group had the necessary security clearances.
In response to mounting scrutiny, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell tweeted Sunday night that “no classified information was shared in any Signal chat.”
Persistent Chaos at the Pentagon
The revelation of a second private Signal chat comes amid ongoing upheaval at the Department of Defense, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently dismissed three senior aides – Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll – and reassigned his chief of staff, Joe Kasper.
Though Pentagon officials initially attributed the internal disarray to a leak investigation, the firings were just one symptom of deeper dysfunction that has gripped Hegseth’s office over the past month. Tensions had reportedly been simmering between Kasper, Caldwell, Selnick, and Carroll, culminating in a complete breakdown of internal coordination.
Kasper, who resigned last week, may still land a different role within the department, but he has not publicly commented on his departure.
By mid-March, Hegseth had grown increasingly unsettled by a string of unauthorized leaks – including plans involving the Panama Canal, operations in the Middle East, and even a classified China-related briefing held for Elon Musk at the Pentagon. In response, Hegseth and Kasper initiated a full-blown internal probe, complete with proposed polygraph testing for staffers.
Following a wave of damaging press stories, such as casting doubt on the effectiveness of a large-scale military campaign against the Houthis – Hegseth’s frustration mounted. Sources say he began suspecting his own inner circle of betrayal and even demanded an FBI investigation into the leaks. Advisers urged him to reconsider, warning that such a move might intensify the scrutiny he was already facing from the Defense Department’s inspector general.
That very investigation continues to weigh heavily on Hegseth, according to insiders. Caldwell, Selnick, and Carroll are expected to be interviewed as part of the ongoing inquiry.
In a joint statement released Saturday, the trio expressed disappointment at how their service had ended and denied any involvement in leaks. “Unnamed Pentagon officials have smeared our reputations with baseless allegations,” they wrote. “All three of us served our country with honor, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. We fully understand the gravity of protecting sensitive information and treated it accordingly.”
They added: “To this day, we have not been informed what we were investigated for — if there’s an active inquiry at all — or whether any real investigation into so-called ‘leaks’ even existed.”
John Ullyot, Hegseth’s former press secretary who resigned earlier this month, also came to their defense. “The narrative that these three were dismissed for leaking is simply false,” he said Sunday. “Despite the department’s claim that polygraph tests would be conducted, not one of the three was ever tested.”
In fact, Ullyot revealed, one of the former officials had been told by investigators that he was likely to be formally cleared of any wrongdoing. “Regrettably, Hegseth’s team has developed a troubling habit of spreading anonymous, easily disproven falsehoods about departing staffers,” Ullyot said.
The continued internal strife has only amplified concerns over Hegseth’s leadership, particularly at a moment when the Pentagon is managing several high-stakes operations – including military action in the Middle East against the Houthis, contingency planning amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, and the mobilization of troops and equipment to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Unfortunately, after a disastrous month, the Pentagon’s priorities appear to have shifted from warfighting to infighting,” Ullyot remarked. “Even for those of us who’ve supported the secretary, it’s clear — this past month has been a complete implosion. And it’s fast becoming a liability for the administration.”
Hegseth has yet to publicly address the firings or the internal chaos engulfing his office. He’s also avoided any encounters with the press in recent days. On Thursday, when reporters were invited to attend his meeting with France’s defense minister, Hegseth skipped the engagement entirely, sending a staffer in his place.
