Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) broke ranks with his party Monday, slamming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a growing scandal dubbed “Signalgate”—and directly challenging President Donald Trump’s decision to stand by him. Bacon, a key Republican voice on national security issues and a former Air Force general, became the first GOP lawmaker to publicly call for […]
—
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) broke ranks with his party Monday, slamming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a growing scandal dubbed “Signalgate”—and directly challenging President Donald Trump’s decision to stand by him.
Bacon, a key Republican voice on national security issues and a former Air Force general, became the first GOP lawmaker to publicly call for Hegseth’s removal, criticizing the Defense Secretary’s handling of sensitive military information. The comments mark a rare moment of intraparty division, as Trump has continued to defend Hegseth amid mounting scrutiny over his use of the encrypted Signal app to discuss classified operations in Yemen.
