US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth put troops at risk by sharing military plans in a messaging app, a Pentagon watchdog ruled.
Hegseth posted details of strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen into a Signal group chat that included a journalist for The Atlantic. The White House has closed ranks around Hegseth in recent days; he is also under pressure after a US strike killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat after an initial attack.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers said that if such a follow-up attack took place, it would likely be illegal. Hegseth said he did not see survivors and that a Navy admiral ordered the second strike.