Alaska’s U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Alaska’s two Republican U.S. senators criticized the Trump administration on Wednesday for a leaked Signal conversation between national security officials about U.S. war plans. The statements were the first response from Alaska’s congressional delegation to an incident revealed by The Atlantic, in which a journalist was added to a group text between national security officials — including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — discussing sensitive military plans.
Sen. Dan Sullivan said in a statement that Trump’s national security team “needs to up their game.”
But Sullivan also said the content of the conservation shared by The Atlantic — which included precise details on U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, references to the U.S.’s European allies as “pathetic” and “free loading,” and a slew of emojis from top administration officials — “should give Alaskans confidence that our military and intelligence leaders are deliberative and serious minded about responding to our adversaries, reestablishing deterrence, and ensuring freedom of navigation — all of which are priorities of mine.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski was unequivocal in her criticism, saying she is “appalled by the egregious security breach from top administration officials.”
Alaska U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, also a Republican, did not respond to a request for comment on the unusual incident.
Even as Democrats called for Hegseth — who shared detailed war plans — and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz — who added The Atlantic journalist to the group chat — to resign, Alaska’s Murkowski and Sullivan have stopped short of doing so.
“This was clearly a mistake that the White House has acknowledged,” Sullivan, a Marine Corps veteran, said in a written statement.
“However, operational security should be at the forefront of every national security and military operation,” he said.
Sullivan did not respond to a request for an interview. He also declined to answer questions on whether he thought any administration officials should lose their jobs, or whether the incident had reduced his confidence in the Trump administration’s ability to maintain operational security moving forward.
Murkowski, in a statement posted on social media, said the Trump administration officials who participated in the conversation on Signal showed “disregard for stringent safeguards and secure channels” that “could have compromised a high-stakes operation and put our service members at risk.”
“I hope this serves as a wake-up call that operational security must be a top priority for everyone — especially our leaders,” Murkowski wrote.
Asked if Murkowski thought anyone should be fired over the Signal conversation leak, Murkowski spokesperson Joe Plesha shared a recorded interview in which Murkowski told a CNN journalist she is “worried about everybody and how they have handled this Signal controversy.”
“It appears that Mr. Waltz has accepted fault for it — I don’t know,” Murkowski told CNN journalist Manu Raju. “Does it concern me? Hell yes.”
[The White House says nothing classified was shared on Signal. Democrats say that strains credulity.]