Colorado lawmakers have a lot of criticism for the members of President Trump’s National Security team who used a Signal group chat to share sensitive material on military strikes in Yemen.
“I think the consequences should be that these guys lose their jobs,” Sen. Michael Bennet told CPR’s Colorado Matters. Bennet sits on the Senate Intelligence panel and questioned two of the people in the group, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA head John Ratcliffe, Tuesday morning, after the story broke.
“They should never have been sharing battle plans on an unclassified network, which is what Signal is,” Bennet said. “Since they've been caught lying about the classified nature of the material that was on there, and in that hearing yesterday, disgracefully asserting that there was nothing wrong with their Signal thread, which is such an insult to the men and women of our intelligence agencies who are held to a much higher standard than that.”
The White House, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and others have downplayed the sensitivity of the information shared in the chat, which The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to, saying it contained no “war plans” or classified information.
The magazine on Wednesday morning released the full chat. It showed Hegseth gave the group an anticipated timeline of the strikes, including when planes would launch, when a trigger-based strike of the “target terrorist” who was at his “known location” would occur, and when MQ-9 drones would strike and sea-based Tomahawks would launch.
Shortly after the strikes, National Security Advisor Mike Walz, who created the Signal group, added that the first target, the Houthi’s “top missile guy” was identified going “into the girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”
Bennet has called on Hegseth, Waltz and Gabbard to resign. Bennet accused Gabbard, a former House member, of lying to Congress.
“In an open Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that Trump administration officials did not discuss any classified information - or information on weapons packages, targets, or timing - in their Signal group chat coordinating U.S. strikes on Yemen. As the chat's transcript makes clear, this is plainly false,” he wrote on social media. “She must resign immediately.”
Gabbard insisted during Wednesday’s House Intelligence hearing that the conversation was “sensitive and candid” but not classified.
Bennet isn’t the only one calling for people to lose their jobs. Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette called for Hegseth and Waltz to resign, and for Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe to be investigated. “The level of incompetence shown by the Secretary of Defense and National Security Advisor is staggering,” she said in a statement.
Rep. Brittany Pettersen has also called for Hegseth to step down. "We must always prioritize the safety and security of our service members and our country. Sec. Hegseth has failed that basic mission," she wrote on social media.
Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said being a leader means accepting responsibility when things go wrong and admitting mistakes. He said the administration officials testifying in front of the committee were not accepting any responsibility, but giving “excuse, after excuse, after excuse” rather than saying it was wrong and it would not happen again.
“It is outrageous and it is a leadership failure. And that’s why Secretary Hegseth, who undoubtedly transmitted classified, sensitive, operational information via this chain, must resign immediately,” he said at the hearing.
Rep. Joe Neguse, House Assistant Minority Leader, added the blunder was “reckless and revealing, highlighting the gross incompetence of those entrusted with our nation’s most classified information.”
The criticism crossed the aisle.
Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd said in a statement that he was “concerned that high ranking officials failed to follow proper protocols in handling sensitive national security operations.”
“Lapses in judgment like this put American lives and assets at risk. We must hold our leaders to the highest standards,” he said.
But at least one Colorado Republican, Rep. Lauren Boebert, is standing behind Hegseth. “The Left has been terrified of Pete Hegseth from the day President Trump nominated him. They’ll use any excuse to try and get rid of him,” she wrote on social media.
CPR News also reached out to Republican Reps. Gabe Evans and Jeff Crank for comment, but has received no response.
While Democrats in Congress have been unified in their criticism of the information that was put out on Signal, Republicans have had a mixed response. Some have expressed concern, but none have called for members of the national security team to step down.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters the significance of the chat had been “overblown, I think, by the media.”
Still, in a sign of how serious some are taking this breach, the Senate Armed Services Committee has asked for an expedited Inspector General investigation into the Signal conversation.
It may not be the only investigation. The White House said President Trump has asked Elon Musk to look into what happened as well.
A spokesperson for the House Democrats’ Litigation/Response Task Force added that the group has asked the FBI to also look into the “reckless and illegal practices of these Cabinet officials that put service members at risk.”
Editor's Note: This story was updated with comment from Rep. Pettersen.
