Press Releases

Office of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia
Formerly the Office of Representative Gerry Connolly
The Washington, D.C., office and the district office of former Representative Connolly will continue to serve the people of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Representative Connolly passed away on May 21, 2025. See Press Release

Ranking Member Connolly’s Statement on DoD Inspector General Investigation of Sec. Hegseth’s Use of Signal to Share War Plans

Washington, April 3, 2025

The Department of Defense (DoD) Acting Inspector General Stebbins has informed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the DoD Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will be investigating Defense Secretary Hegseth’s use of Signal following calls from Ranking Member Gerald E. Connolly and the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  The OIG stated it is initiating an evaluation “to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business.” 

Ranking Member Connolly issued the following statement on the DoD OIG’s investigation:  

“Our servicemembers put their lives on the line every day to protect our nation and deserve better than officials who would risk their safety just so they can text each other congratulations. This blatant breach of security protocol and violation of law demands a fulsome, free, and fair investigation.

“Inspectors General must have the independence to carry out their mission free from partisan pressure and threat. That is the only way these government watchdogs can conduct their important work on behalf of the American people.  The work of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General must be allowed to proceed unimpeded.”

On March 27, 2025, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Offices of Inspectors General at the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, and the Central Intelligence Agency as well as to the Counsel to the President requesting a full and immediate investigation following two reports published in The Atlantic that revealed several members of the National Security Council and the White House Cabinet discussed classified plans for a military operation in Yemen in a group chat on the Signal messaging application that included The Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg. 

Click here to read Oversight Democrats’ March 27th letter to the Offices of Inspectors General.