Before the U.S. carried out military strikes on Yemen on March 15, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly shared sensitive information about the planned operation in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, according to a report by the New York Times on Sunday. This has raised fresh concerns about his use of an unsecured messaging app to discuss critical national security matters. The Signal group chat was created initially by U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and included top Trump administration officials. Hegseth is said to have shared key details about the operation in that group. The existence of the chat came to light last month when journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic was mistakenly added to it.

The latest NYT report states that Hegseth allegedly revealed the same information previously reported by The Atlantic, including the flight schedules of F/A-18 Hornets that were assigned to strike Houthi targets in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the group messages.

Unlike the chat group where Waltz mistakenly added the Atlantic, another group was created by Hegseth himself in January. According to the New York Times, this group, called "Defence | Team Huddle," included his wife and around a dozen close personal and professional contacts. It was run from his personal phone, not his official government device. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, who previously worked as a Fox News producer, has reportedly taken part in confidential meetings with foreign military officials.

The revelation of this second, previously unknown Signal chat where Hegseth shared highly classified military information has raised further concerns about his leadership and decision-making. The fact that he shared top-secret plans more than once is expected to increase criticism over whether the former Fox News anchor can run the Pentagon, an institution with global responsibilities involving critical security and life-or-death decisions.

The report also mentioned that Hegseth shared the classified plans in both chat groups simultaneously.

New revelations about using the Signal app to share classified information have surfaced, just days after one of Hegseth's top advisers, Dan Caldwell, was removed from the Pentagon. A U.S. official told Reuters that Caldwell was identified during an investigation into leaks within the Department of Defence.

Following his exit, officials confirmed that two other staff members, Darin Selnick, who recently became Hegseth's deputy chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, who served as chief of staff to Deputy Defence Secretary Steve Feinberg, were placed on administrative leave. In response to the situation, the Senate’s top Democrat has called for removing the defence secretary, citing the series of missteps.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X, saying, “We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk.” He added, “But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”

The Trump administration has been actively cracking down on leaks, a move strongly supported by Hegseth in his role at the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not respond immediately, and the White House has not yet returned a message.