U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on, as President Donald Trump (not pictured) delivers remarks, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
The Pentagon’s internal watchdog said Thursday that it had opened an investigation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for using the Signal messaging app to discuss pending military strikes in Yemen in March.
The Defense Department’s Office of the Inspector General in a memo to Hegseth said it was launching a “subject evaluation” into recent reports about his use of the “unclassified commercially available messaging application” while discussing military actions.
The probe was launched at the request of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking Democrat Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, according to the memo.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Hegseth’s discussion of airstrikes on Houthi rebels over Signal was revealed in a bombshell report by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to the group chat by national security advisor Mike Waltz.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
