Trump news at a glance: Hegseth remains in hot seat over Signal chat leak, boat strikes

Pentagon report concludes defense secretary endangered troops as some Republican lawmakers scrutinize Caribbean operations - key US politics stories from 3 December 2025

A long-awaited Department of Defense report found that US defense secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies and put troops in danger when he shared secret information in a Signal messaging chat, a source familiar with the report said.

The report centers on Hegseth's conduct before and during a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters back in March. The Signal chat was disclosed after a reporter for the Atlantic was accidentally added as a member. The group also included JD Vance; the CIA director, John Ratcliffe; and the then-national security adviser, Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of those officials, since they do not work at the department of defense.