Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, called on Wednesday for the Marines accused of sharing explicit photos of female Marines to be fired.
Speier asked for Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to "hold your leadership accountable for these failures to establish a culture of dramatic change" in a speech on the House floor, the Hill reported.
"Action is what is needed for the integrity of the military," Speier said. "Survivors must be supported. That will only happen if those bad Marines are drummed out of the Corps, with no exceptions."
"That means heads should roll," she added.
In a video statement released on Tuesday, Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, condemned the actions of those service members who allegedly shared nude photos and personal information of female Marines and veterans.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps, @GenRobertNeller, asks you: "Do you really want to be a Marine?" pic.twitter.com/ClmuTyA7pw
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) March 7, 2017
"Right now we all need to be focused on getting better, becoming more lethal, working day and night to stay ahead of potential adversaries," Neller said. "Not hiding on social media participating in or being aware of actions that are disrespectful and harmful to other Marines."
"It's embarrassing to our Corps, to our families, and to the nation," Neller added. "We will ensure that the investigative process that is ongoing will ensure the reporting of conduct that is like this."
"If changes need to be made, they will be made."
Speier appeared to acknowledge Neller's statement in her floor speech.
"I fear that military leadership will say anything to placate Congress and an outraged public, but then do nothing," she said. "This is not about sex or fun or 'boys will be boys.' This is about the Marines deliberately trying to degrade, humiliate, and threaten fellow Marines."
The War Horse, a nonprofit military news organization, first reported the story on Saturday. The report said that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was investigating the claim that hundreds of Marines shared nude photographs of female Marines on a private Facebook group called "Marines United."