Calls for Hegseth, Waltz ousters grow in Congress over leaked chat

• Hegseth sent the group details about timing and weapons systems in advance of strikes on the Houthi rebel group, Axios' Zach Basu reports.
• "THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP," the defense secretary wrote.

Driving the news: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), citing Hegseth's and Waltz's denials that classified information or "war plans" were discussed in the chat, said in a statement that they both "must resign."

• "Had this very specific plan gotten in the wrong hands, Americans would be dead right now," Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a member of Democratic leadership, said in a post on X. "Waltz and Hegseth must be fired immediately."
• Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said on X that Hegseth "needs to resign" and that the "incompetence and cover up is embarrassing."
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called for Hegseth to be fired in a letter to President Trump on Tuesday night — ahead of the publication of the whole Signal conversation.

Zoom in: No Republicans have yet called for resignations, but some are ratcheting up their criticism of the administration in the wake of the latest release.

• "The WH is in denial that this was not classified or sensitive data," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a House Armed Services Committee member and former Air Force brigadier general.
• Bacon told Axios: "They should just own up to it and preserve credibility."

What to watch: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are set to be grilled at a House Intelligence Committee hearing at 10am ET on Wednesday.