A veterans group renewed its public support of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after a report that it had "all but gone silent" amid his involvement in an online chat controversy.
The White House on Tuesday backed Hegseth for the second straight day after allegations that he used the Signal messaging app on his personal smartphone to detail classified information about airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist targets in Yemen with his wife, brother, and attorney.
Earlier in the day, Hegseth said "informal, unclassified coordinations" were shared in an online chat and he added that an internal probe into leakers at the Pentagon continues.
Politico reported early Wednesday that Veteran Action, which previously defended Hegseth and promised to "have his back 100 percent has all but gone silent."
However, after that report the group used social media to again support the secretary.
"Do you have @PeteHegseth's back? Tell Congress to support @SecDef's efforts to reform the Pentagon," Veteran Action posted on X with a link allowing supporters to sign up and send a message to lawmakers.
Politico had reported that Veteran Action stepped back its support of Hegseth after the latest Signal chat storm resulted in two of the group's top allies being dismissed from the Pentagon.
However, group founder Mark Lucas told Politico that the group's inactivity was due to being on "Easter break."
Lucas, a veteran of the Article III Project that was instrumental in Hegseth's confirmation, told Politico that he was "trying not to do media" at the moment and that "Signalgate was a hoax."
"All of the media, all of this attention, is just a sign that Pete is reforming the Pentagon," Lucas said.
One source told Politico that he knows Lucas, and the allies' departure from Defense doesn't change the dynamic of Veterans Action supporting Hegseth.
"Regardless of what happens, Pete or who is or isn't in the front office is going to need someone like Mark Lucas," this source said. "I don't think it removes the need for someone like Mark. In some ways, it just makes it more important."
Late last month, it was reported that The Atlantic's editor-in-chief was accidentally included in a March 13 group chat with top Trump administration officials, including Hegseth and White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, who were discussing plans for military action in Yemen.