‘SignalGate’ scandal prompts questions on classified disclosures during SECAF, acquisition czar hearing

From left, Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for Acquisition and sustainment nominee for US President Donald Trump, Troy Meink, secretary of the US Air Force nominee for US President Donald Trump, Emil Michael, under secretary of defense for research and engineering nominee for US President Donald Trump, and Keith Bass, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs nominee for US President Donald Trump, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — “SignalGate” loomed over the confirmation hearing of four nominees for key Defense Department positions today, as Democrats pressed the nominees to answer whether they have ever disclosed sensitive information using unsecured or nonapproved apps or devices.

On Monday, The Atlantic published an explosive report alleging that its editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a group chat on Signal where senior members of Trump’s national security team — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz — discussed plans to attack the Houthis, including details such as timing and methods of the strikes.

Although the Pentagon has denied that classified information was shared in the chat, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, called for the Defense Department inspector general to investigate the incident in a letter sent this morning.

None of the four DoD nominees — which included Troy Meink, tapped to be the next Air Force secretary; Michael Duffey, nominated for undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; Emil Michael, nominated for undersecretary of defense for research and engineering; and Keith Bass, nominated for assistant secretary of defense for health affairs — were involved in the now infamous “Houthi PC small group” Signal chat.

But Duffey, who was sworn in as Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff in January, was asked by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., whether he would cooperate with an IG investigation if one was greenlit.

After Duffey responded that he would comply with Defense Department policy, Slotkin asked, “Are you aware of any other signal communications that has gone on from the front office of the Secretary of Defense, either him or his senior staff that have involved operationally sensitive information, information about specific weapons platforms, the timing of operations, or anything having to do with senior leader decision making?”

“I’m not aware of any Signal chats that contain sensitive information,” Duffey said.

“So  you can confirm with a clear yes or no, you have not been on any Signal chains that provide operationally sensitive or classified information?” Slotkin asked.

“No, I have not,” he said.

In another exchange, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asked all of the nominees whether they had ever discussed classified information on an unclassified device or method of communication. All four nominees responded no.

“I’m glad that all of you have answered no, because that’s pretty obvious. If you admitted that you did not follow the law, that you will be admitting to committing a federal crime,” Hirono said, adding that she supports an investigation into the incident.

RELATED: Before Trump admin’s Signal controversy, US diplomats in Kyiv scolded for using app

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., called the questions about the Signal chat “faux outrage,” adding that the chat logs released by The Atlantic do not contain actual war plans, as initially claimed.

“It occurs to me that this is more to do about the election loss and rooting against President [Donald] Trump and trying to get a scalp than it is about national security,” he said.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy fighter pilot, responded that while the information shared over the Signal chat does not meet the strict definition of a war plan, the messages contained “critical information” such as aircraft launch times that could have been detrimental to US security interests if it had fallen into the wrong hands.

“When you have pilots that are about to go feet dry over a foreign nation within an hour or two hours, and that information is being shared on a non-secure system, it puts those pilots at great risk,” he said.

Few Real Policy Questions

Aside from Democrats probing on possible security lapses, the nominees largely cruised through the hearings with the requisite inquiries from lawmakers about visits to local military installations and defense acquisition reform, and very few tough questions.

In one exchange, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., asked Meink about rumors that the Space Force intends to cancel solicitations for tranche 2 and 3 of the Space Development Agency’s transport layer and instead give a sole-source contract to SpaceX for its Starshield capability — a move Cramer said would result in “maybe eight or more small [or] midsize companies” not being allowed to bid.

Meink, currently the principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, said that he was not aware of those discussions but would look into them if confirmed.

“One of the things that I’ve pushed for, particularly over the last 10 years, is to expand competition and expand the industry base,” he said. “That ends up almost always with the best result, both from a capability [standpoint] and cost to the government.”

Meink was not asked about his ties to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, despite concerns raised in a February letter by Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The questions concerned a Reuters report that Musk had recommended Meink for the job after Meink helped push a satellite contract toward SpaceX.

Duffey, who served in several roles including at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the first Trump administration, told lawmakers that, if confirmed, he would prioritize accelerating defense production capacity and shortening the timeline it takes for new technology to become operational, while also reducing the barriers to new entrants to the defense industry.

Michael, a former Uber executive, called the protection of American intellectual property “one of the most important things” he intends to work on, adding that Chinese cyber espionage efforts like Salt Typhoon allow it to “catch up” to US innovation “without 80 percent of the cost.”