Shaheen Statement on Secretary Hegseth

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a top member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to recent reports around Secretary Hegseth’s sharing of operational plans:

“It is beyond belief that anyone in Secretary Hegseth’s position – or in a significantly more junior role, for that matter – would think that sharing sensitive operational details in an unsecured messaging app, and with family members, is remotely acceptable. If this new report is correct, this is the second time that Secretary Hegseth has endangered American service members during combat operations. These allegations are troubling on their own, but are particularly disturbing given the abrupt exodus of senior officials at the Pentagon and the new public warnings about Secretary Hegseth’s poor leadership by one of his own former top aides.

“Secretary Hegseth should own up to his actions and accept the consequences for potentially putting our service members in harm’s way due to his negligence. But we must not forget that ultimate responsibility here lies with President Trump for selecting a former weekend TV host, without any experience successfully leading a large and complex organization, to run our government’s biggest department and make life and death decisions for our military and country.”

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