Calls for Hegseth's Resignation Spread After War Plans Text Blunder: 'If This Doesn't Get You Fired, Nothing Does'

Demands for the resignation of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are flooding social media following a bombshell report that classified military plans were shared via text message to a group chat, which mistakenly included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief.

The messages, intended for high-level officials, detailed upcoming strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and were sent through a group chat on the Signal app. The text thread—titled Houthi PC Small Group Chat—included Vice President JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, director of intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, national security advisor Mike Waltz, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and inexplicably, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, among others.

In a message that began "TEAM UPDATE," Hegseth detailed the targets, weapons, and attack sequencing associated with the March 15 attack against Yemen. The revelation has been criticized as a grave breach of national security protocols, with social media platforms inundated with demands for accountability.

"You need to resign. You are grossly incompetent," one user wrote of Hegseth. "By your definition of DEI, you are the ultimate DEI hire."

"A lot of people in that little chat leak need to resign in shame and be replaced by adults with experience," another said. 

Others called Hegseth a "disgrace," with one post noting, "If this doesn't get you fired, nothing does."

President Donald Trump dismissed the report, claiming to have just heard about it "for the first time," when questioned by reporters—a tactic the president has used previously. "I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic," he diverged. "To me, it's a magazine that's going out of business."