President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to contain the fallout from the revelation that the 15 March chat included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on the encrypted messaging app Signal.

It has also renewed scrutiny of Hegseth, who only narrowly won Senate confirmation after a bruising review that raised serious questions about his experience, temperament and views about women in combat.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on X that Hegseth was “merely updating the group on a plan that was underway & had already been briefed through official channels.”

Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were among members of a Signal group chat that discussed war plans that inadvertently included the Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic magazine. Source: AAP / Aaron Schwartz / Sipa USA

Senior US national security officials have classified systems that are meant to be used to communicate secret materials.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Hegseth would be the one to determine what defense information was classified.

The US military has declined to offer basic details about the offensive in Yemen, including how many strikes have been carried out, what senior leaders have been targeted or killed and even whether the operation has a name.