Over 100 US intelligence officers have been fired for engaging in sexually explicit discussions on a government chat tool, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, announced on Tuesday. 

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These officers are from 15 agencies and would also have their security clearances revoked.

The chat platform, managed by the National Security Agency (NSA), was for having classified discussions, however, it was misused for explicit conversations, including discussions on gender transition surgery.

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The chats took place on a secure intranet called Intelink in two server channels titled "LBTQA" and "IC_Pride_TWG," according to intelligence community officials.

"This behavior is unacceptable and those involved WILL be held accountable," Tulsi Gabbard posted on X.

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She added that the "disgusting chat groups" were immediately shut down when President Donald Trump issued his executive order ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government. 

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"Our IC must be focused on our core mission: ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people," Gabbard said.

On Tuesday evening, Gabbard appeared on Fox News and said that she had issued a directive to fire more than 100 people who participated in the discussions and to strip the officers of their security clearances. 

She added that the chats were an “egregious violation of trust” that violated “basic rules and standards” of workplace professionalism.

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The researchers at the conservative Manhattan Institute obtained the leaked chats from the NSA 'Interlink' messaging platform through NSA sources. 

Musk reacts

After the move by the director of national intelligence, Elon Musk reacted on X while posting a screengrab of the leaked screenshot. 

"Wow", billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacted. 

Deputy Chief of Staff Alexa Henning said that a memo was sent to all intelligence agencies, requiring them to identify employees who participated in these chats by Friday.

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(With inputs from agencies)