[Ray Bogan]
Most members of Congress, including Republicans, are concerned about the Trump administration’s handling of sensitive materials. Here are the results of a new survey that gives an inside look at the Signalgate scandal through the eyes of Capitol Hill.
A new survey of senior staff on Capitol Hill by Punchbowl News found 76% said their boss is worried.
Breaking it down by party, 100% of Democrats said they’re concerned in addition to 52% of Republicans.
The survey began April 7, two weeks after reporter Jeffrey Goldberg revealed former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz accidentally added him to a Signal group chat in which cabinet members discussed the political implications and attack plans for air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. They concluded the survey April 28, three days before Waltz was removed as National Security Adviser and nominated by President Trump to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Lawmakers didn’t see that coming. When asked “What do you think will happen as a result of the Signal chat scandal?”, 59% said nothing, 21% said Waltz is likely to be fired, and 9% said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is likely to be fired.
84% of respondents said their bosses are concerned about Goldberg being added to the chat, including 98% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans.
The staffers also didn’t think Congress would do anything about the incident, which has become known as Signalgate. Just 5% said Congress will pass new laws regarding handling of classified documents and 25% said Congress will open an investigation.
Republicans control Congress so that means they decide whether to open an investigation and what the scope would be.
