GOP congressman says Signal leak was ‘obviously’ a mistake, defers to president to determine consequences

GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman told Fox News Digital that the recent Signal leak debacle was “obviously” a mistake, but he expressed confidence in the Trump administration’s national security officials and said he trusts the president to determine whether any consequences should be handed down.

“Yes, obviously, we don’t want those things to happen,” Stutzman. R-Ind., told Fox News from inside the Capitol. “We all know that President Trump is America First. He supports our military, he supports security – I mean, he is the law and order president, so he’s going to make sure that he takes care of this… he’s going to be the one to make this decision and I support whatever decision he makes.”

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President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Stutzman’s comments came amid a reported attempt by Democratic Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to introduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security advisor Michael Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, each of whom were involved in the Signal chat leak. 

Trump confirmed Thursday aboard Air Force One that multiple employees within the National Security Council were fired, but did add that it was not many. So far, no consequences have been handed down to Hegseth, Waltz or Ratcliffe, three of the highest-ranking officials who allegedly participated in the leaked Signal chat.  

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The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg published a piece stating he was inadvertently invited to a Trump administration text groupchat discussing the White House’s plans to strike Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters )

Republicans have said there was no classified material shared or discussed in the leaked Signal chat, but Democrats have insisted the manner in which sensitive information was handled was still “reckless,” potentially illegal and constituted the need for repercussions.

But Stutzman expressed confidence in the administration’s national security officials and the president, noting that “so far” everyone involved has taken appropriate responsibility and “they’re going to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

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“I think they’ll analyze every communication channel that they have,” Stutzman said. “I think that they’re going to be sure, especially this soon in the administration – this will be a top priority for them… we all know that there are folks all around the world trying to get into American leaders’ conversations all the time, and so they’re going to be just as diligent.”