Senator Mark Kelly speaks at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
Arizona Democrats are calling for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign amid fallout from this week’s text thread leak to an Atlantic journalist.
On Tuesday, Senator Mark Kelly questioned the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Department of Defense policies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
Gabbard said she hadn’t read the policy that prohibits “Controlled unclassified information” on unsecured devices, and both she and Ratcliffe emphasized the information contained in screenshots released by The Atlantic was not classified.
Hegseth denied that war plans were discussed in the thread, leading Kelly and fellow Democrat Ruben Gallego - both veterans - to post social media videos calling for his resignation.
“This is perhaps one of the most irresponsible, brazen, incompetent things I’ve seen anybody in the US Military do, and this is the Secretary of Defense. This is exactly why this guy should have never been confirmed for this job,” Kelly said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This is the most irresponsible thing I’ve seen from any defense official, let alone the Secretary of Defense. Incompetence at the highest level. There is nothing more sensitive than a combat mission that is about to start. The element of surprise is everything. pic.twitter.com/CRhijTAxAu
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) March 26, 2025
Sen. Ruben Gallego joined in the calls to resign, saying on X that the leak put American lives at risk.
“I question your ability to lead your men,” he said in a video.
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) March 26, 2025
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