Hegseth Signal Yemen Houthis Pentagon inspector general.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. troops at risk by sharing sensitive military plans on his personal phone. That’s according to the Pentagon’s watchdog in a report made public Thursday. It says Hegseth had the authority to declassify the material he shared about a planned strike on Houthi militants in Yemen. But the watchdog said that release violated internal Pentagon rules about handling sensitive information that could put service members or their missions in danger. Hegseth has called the investigation political and that he had the right to share the information. Hegseth’s use of Signal came to light after a journalist was inadvertently added to the group chat.