Mar 26, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Scoop: House Dem plans HOUTHI PC SMALL GROUP Act

Andrew Solender

Rep. Ritchie Torres, wearing a black overcoat and an airpod in his ear. — Rep. Ritchie Torres talks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 12, 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

A House Democrat's long-shot bill to criminalize the sharing of classified information through unsecured messaging systems like Signal will be called the "HOUTHI PC SMALL GROUP Act," Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's a sign of just how eager Democrats are to seize on the Trump national security team's blunder in accidentally adding a journalist to a Signal chat in which high-level military operations were discussed.

The scandal, which some outlets have dubbed "Signalgate," has dominated a pair of congressional intelligence hearings this week.
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel a letter asking if the DOJ is investigating the stunning breach.
Democrats have also lined up to call for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and others to be ousted.

Driving the news: The bill, which is being drafted by Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) would ensure the Espionage Act's prohibition on disclosing classified information includes sending it through unsecured channels.

Violators would be subject to up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Torres' office told Axios.
The name is an acronym, which stands for "Homeland Operations and Unilateral Tactics Halting Incursions: Preventing Coordinated Subversion, Military Aggression and Lawless Levies Granting Rogue Operatives Unchecked Power."

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Scoop: House Dem plans HOUTHI PC SMALL GROUP Act

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