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The second Signal chat surfaced as controversy swirls around the head of the Pentagon, who this year is controlling a budget of $892bn (£670bn).
Hegseth last week fired three top officials for an "unauthorised disclosure" – an accusation the officials said was "baseless".
In a testy exchange outside the White House ahead of an annual Easter event, Hegseth appeared to attribute the latest story to the officials he fired.
"What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out," he said.
Hegseth criticised the media and denounced the reports. He also said he has spoken to the president and that they were "on the same page all the way".
In an op-ed for Politico magazine published on Sunday, John Ullyot, the top Pentagon spokesperson who resigned last week, wrote that the department was in "total chaos".
He added: "The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership."
Ullyot said it was not true that the three fired officials were leaking information and wrote: "Unfortunately, Hegseth's team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door."
However, in a statement on X, Sean Parnell, current chief spokesman for the Pentagon, said the "Trump-hating media" was "destroying anyone committed to President Trump's agenda".
He echoed the White House by saying that "there was no classified information in any Signal chat".
Washington says its strikes in Yemen are punishment for Houthi attacks on cargo vessels transiting through the Red Sea, a critical waterway for international trade.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza . They have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and killed four crew members.
US air strikes on an oil terminal in north-western Yemen this week killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
