Members of the Bay State’s congressional delegation joined the firestorm of outrage surrounding disclosure of U.S. attack plans on an unsecure chat app, calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, even as the Trump administration insisted no classified material was revealed.

“Pete Hegseth directly compromised the security of the United States and endangered the lives of American servicemembers. When confronted by his egregious error, he lied and showed zero remorse for his failure to keep Americans safe,” said House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, in a statement.

“Pete Hegseth is a liar,” said Sen. Ed Markey. “These are war plans. End of story. Hegseth is unfit for the job and should resign or be fired immediately.”

Hegseth, and Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz have come under intense scrutiny following disclosure in The Atlantic magazine that editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was included in a pre-attack chat string on the Signal app which laid out plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Missiles and rockets were launched hours after the chat.

“I think it’s all a witch hunt,” said Trump as controversy surrounding the chat gained steam on Wednesday.

The Atlantic, citing the administration’s insistence that classified material was not shared, published the entire transcript on Wednesday.

“I call on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign or be fired following the embarrassing mishandling of actionable intelligence regarding imminent military operations in Yemen,” said South Boston Congressman Stephen Lynch.

“It is unacceptable that the incompetence and ineptitude of the Trump’s top military and national security officials allowed active U.S. battle plans to be discussed on an insecure network with random individuals who lacked authority or clearance. “

Signal is a confidential communications tool favored by journalists and privacy fanatics alike. It is not a classified system, and under normal circumstances would not be allowed for use in sharing classified material. The application is widely known for its end-to-end encryption, and the service automatically deletes messages after a set period of time, which would seem to run counter to government records retention laws.

Hegseth, Waltz and other administration officials on Wednesday uniformly insisted that no “war plans” had been texted, a claim that current and former U.S. officials have called “semantics.”

“No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information,” said Hegseth in a post on X.  The Defense Secretary did not directly address concerns raided by Democrats about the timing and weaponry details in the chain.

Waltz acknowledged he built the Signal chain and said he takes “full responsibility” for the episode.

He amplified Hegseth’s contention that controversy over the chat string was overblown.

“No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” Waltz posted on X. “Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.”

But Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat, told the House Intelligence Committee that the episode was a “mistake” and that the text string contained  “candid and sensitive” information about military strikes, though she too insisted no classified material was revealed.

“It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added,” Gabbard said.

“We need to find out why this happened and what’s being done to ensure it never happens again” said Congressman Bill Keating.

“Hegseth should not be Secretary of Defense. If he won’t resign, POTUS should remove him,” Keating said.

Trump bristled at the suggestion that Hegseth should step down.

“He’s doing a great job,” Trump said. “He had nothing to do with it.”

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her White House press briefing Wednesday, described the messaging thread “as a policy discussion, surely a sensitive policy discussion, amongst high-level Cabinet officials and senior staff.”

But Leavitt dismissed the outrage as a “coordinated campaign” by Democrats to “sow chaos.”

“The American people aren’t stupid,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in a post on social media.

”Pete Hegseth disclosed sensitive information, put our troops at risk, and then lied about it. Trump must fire Hegseth,” she said.

Herald wire service contributed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)