Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan Introduces Bill To Reduce Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Salary To $1 After Signal Scandal

Like Love Haha Wow Sad Angry

Alessio AtriaMay 18, 2025, 7:22 pmNews >

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-New York) introduced legislation reducing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s salary to $1.

During the House Armed Services Committee Markup of the FY2025 Reconciliation Bill, Ryan responded to concerns over Hegseth’s “mishandling of classified information” and “well-documented dysfunction within the Department of Defense” by offering several amendments “to force accountability and end corruption at the Department of Defense,” according to a press release posted on his website.

In late March, members of the Trump Administration, including the defense secretary, accidentally sent Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, plans to attack Houthi militants in Yemen via a Signal chat.

Last month, reports revealed that, on March 15, Hegseth also shared sensitive military information about U.S. airstrikes in Yemen using a private Signal group chat that included his wife, his brother and his lawyer, people who lack national security roles.

In particular, Ryan proposed legislation to force Hegseth to create a new plan to improve operational security after Signalgate and reduce his salary to $1.

“The American people, especially our men and women in uniform, expect and deserve serious leadership and accountability at the Pentagon,” the New York congressman stated. “We’ve seen the exact opposite in the first 100 days of this Administration, which is both dangerous and deeply disappointing.

“Pete Hegseth has proven himself to be a direct threat to our troops and national security – Hudson Valley families shouldn’t be spending a dollar of their hard-earned money on his salary.”

The release noted that no more than 25% of the funds made available to the Department of Defense under the bill may be disbursed until Hegseth “conducts a review of the policies, guidance, instructions, standards, practices, and procedures of the Department of Defense, and the provisions of law, that are applicable to the control, communication, transmission, or delivery of classified information.”

Additionally, the release said that Hegseth needs to submit to “the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a certification that the Department of Defense possesses a viable mechanism to enforce a prohibition on the communication, transmission, or delivery of classified information by Department of Defense officials using any device, system, service, or application that has not been approved for use for the communication, transmission, or delivery of classified information prior to such use.”