Thursday, December 4, 2025

Hegseth faulted in Signalgate investigation

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On Politics

Thu Dec 4 2025

Kathryn Palmer | Politics Reporter

@KathrynPlmr

Hello readers, and happy Thursday. Kathryn Palmer here. I hope everyone living in the central and eastern parts of the country are preparing themselves for this polar vortex. In my case, it'll mean lots and lots of pho takeout. Here are today's top stories.

Hegseth faulted in Signalgate

Remember Signalgate? The controversy, a little over three months into Trump's second term, when Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and several other prominent officials used the commercial messaging application Signal to discuss highly sensitive details about a planned U.S. military strike in Yemen. It came to light after a high-profile reporter was mistakenly added to the conversation. Several months later, a Pentagon watchdog investigation found Hegseth risked the safety of American troops and their mission in the chat scandal. Read more of what the report said here.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a cabinet meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025.

Brian Snyder, Reuters

A politics roundup:

•	New photos of Epstein's island made the rounds online, but what about the rest of the Epstein files?
•	Flags across the country will be flown at half-staff to honor National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom, killed in the DC shooting
•	Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate and convicted of criminal conduct related to Jeffrey Epstein, will plead for an early prison release
•	After a nearly 5-year investigation, a person suspected of planting pipe bombs ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is in custody

Gallery: See inside the infamous Epstein island Caribbean estate in newly released photos

MyPillow guy wants to be governor

MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, a loyal Trump supporter and 2020 election denier, is considering jumping into the race for governor of Minnesota. Lindell was indicted by a federal jury in June for defaming a former Colorado voting system executive for claiming election fraud in the 2020 election. But the bombastic MAGA figure isn't letting that hold him down, telling a Minnesota radio station he is "98% sure" he'll run for the office. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who is currently embroiled in a scandal over his handling of large-scale fraud investigations, has already said he will run for a third term.

More MAGA infighting: Stefanik vs. Johnson

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a key House Republican ally of the president's, is not backing down on her verbal attacks against House Speaker Mike Johnson. Stefanik said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Johnson was ineffective and a "political novice." She claimed he has lost control of his conference, and said "if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow," Johnson wouldn't have the votes to be speaker. Stefanik was formerly the fourth-ranking House Republican and is now a candidate for New York governor. In response, Johnson said among Republicans, "99.9% are united."

Catch up with me at kapalmer@usatoday.com.