WATCH: Sherrill Demands Republican Colleagues Support Amendment To Hold Hegseth Accountable For Reckless Use Of Signal

WASHINGTON, DC — During today’s House Armed Services Committee reconciliation markup, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter aircraft commander and Russian policy officer, demanded that her Republican colleagues hold Secretary Hegseth accountable for recklessly disclosing classified information on Signal. 

Click here to listen to Sherrill’s full remarks. 

Full remarks, as delivered:

“I learned how to properly handle classified information when I was a teenager in the U.S. Naval Academy. I used that training again as a Russian Policy officer in the Navy. 

So I’ll start with the obvious: if Secretary Pete Hegseth believed a word he said about turning our military into a meritocracy, he would have sent in his resignation weeks ago. 

His decision to send strike plans in multiple unsecured signal chats with his wife, his brother, his personal attorney, and a reporter could have killed American service members. And he did so while at least one Signal member was in the Kremlin. 

But I’m not surprised by his complete disregard for our national security and the safety of our men and women in uniform. From his views on women in combat, to his willingness to bend the knee to Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin, we knew exactly who Trump was picking. It’s why I strongly opposed his nomination from the very beginning. 

But I will say that I am deeply disappointed that it has taken until this moment for us to even bring this up. An investigation by this committee is long overdue. Because every single individual in this room knows that the information Hegseth shared on Signal was classified. 

Every member of the House Armed Services Committee knows without a doubt that the timing, schedule, and composition of operations are absolutely classified. Every individual in this room knows that Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal could have gotten American service members killed. 

So even if you haven’t served in uniform, you know how to handle classified information by virtue of sitting on this very committee. We host any hearing with classified information in secure rooms, without our phones, and without messaging apps like Signal. 

Which is why I think it’s frankly asinine that the Majority on this committee has refused to hold any sort of investigatory hearing into Hegseth’s behavior. So the next time the majority tries to tell you they support our troops or care about our national security, remember that they continue to defend a Secretary of Defense who is a clear and present danger to every single American in uniform.”

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