(CAPITOL CITY NOW) — U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have raised concerns over reports that senior Trump administration officials discussed classified military operations through an unsecured Signal text chain. The reports, first published by The Atlantic, suggest that at least 18 officials shared sensitive intelligence information in a group chat, prompting calls for further investigation.

Durbin, the Senate Democratic Whip and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement calling the alleged actions a serious national security risk. “We are talking about an attack on another country and the possible endangerment of the men and women in the United States’ military. This is a serious life and death matter and should be treated as such,” Durbin said. He also accused intelligence officials of misleading Congress and called for the Department of Justice to investigate the matter.

Duckworth, a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, also condemned the reported breach. She expressed strong concerns over the potential risks posed to military personnel and called for an independent investigation into the matter. Duckworth emphasized the need for accountability and stated that officials involved should be held responsible if classified information was improperly shared.

 

U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) pushed back against the criticism, arguing that the text messages did not contain classified information. In a statement on social media on Wednesday, Miller said, “Democrats are in meltdown mode over an UNCLASSIFIED text thread—yet they have no problem with terrorists running free. Meanwhile, President Trump is taking out the bad guys and keeping America and, quite frankly, the world safe. Their priorities couldn’t be more misguided!”

 

 

The controversy has sparked a broader debate over the handling of sensitive national security information and the measures in place to protect classified communications.

The Associated Press reports The Atlantic has released the Signal chat among Trump senior national security officials. It shows that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact times of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women flying those attacks against Yemen’s Houthis this month on behalf of the United States were airborne. The disclosure follows two intense days during which Trump’s senior most Cabinet members of his intelligence and defense agencies have struggled to explain how details that current and former U.S. officials have said would have been classified wound up on an unclassified Signal chat. That chat included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg.