The Trump administration’s error in adding a journalist to a top secret Signal group chat about attack plans against Houthi terrorists in Yemen has thrown several officials into hot water.
The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg reported Monday that he was unexpectedly added to a Signal group chat earlier this month, where top Trump administration officials discussed plans to attack Houthi targets. The report sparked sharp reactions over the apparent security lapse, including calls for some of the officials in the chat to resign. Here is what to know about the controversy.
What happened?
The report detailed how Goldberg was allegedly added to a group chat called “Houthi PC small group” by national security adviser Mike Waltz on March 13, ahead of March 15 strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The group chat included Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others. According to the report, the strikes against the terrorist group were discussed in the chat hours before they happened. Goldberg said he left the chat before anyone else discovered he had been erroneously added to the group.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the Washington Examiner Monday that the text chain “appears to [be authentic]” and that the agency is “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
During testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday, Ratcliffe and Gabbard maintained that no classified information was shared in the chat. Ratcliffe also testified that Signal was an approved communication platform.
On Wednesday, Goldberg released a follow-up report providing more information revealed in the group chat, including messages in the chat from Hegseth, which revealed the timeline for strikes they planned to conduct on Houthi targets before the strikes were publicly announced.
“TEAM UPDATE: TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch,” the beginning of Hegseth’s message said.
The defense secretary continued with time stamps on when the F-18s would launch, which forces would be used, and when bombs would drop. Specific locations and names of targets were not shown in the text.
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” the message continued. “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).”
He ended the message by saying, “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline),” and “We are currently clean on OPSEC” — that is, operational security. “Godspeed to our Warriors.”
Waltz told Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle that he took full responsibility for the error and floated the possibility the journalist was added in an unusual way.
“It looked like someone else. Now, whether he did it deliberately or it happened by some other technical means is something we’re trying to figure out,” Waltz said Tuesday evening.
What has Trump said about the controversy?
While there has been bipartisan criticism over the incident, President Donald Trump has stood by the key official at the center of the controversy.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.” He added that it was “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.”
TRUMP STANDS BY WALTZ AFTER HOUTHI GROUP CHAT LEAK
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the incident on Tuesday, claiming that “war plans” and classified information were not discussed in the text thread. She also dismissed Goldberg as being “well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin. Here are the facts about his latest story:
1. No “war plans” were discussed.
2. No classified material was sent to the thread.
3. The White House Counsel’s Office has provided guidance on a number of different…
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 25, 2025
“As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread. Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that’s what matters most to President Trump,” Leavitt said in a post on X.
Leavitt also reiterated the administration’s support for Waltz despite the incident.
“As I said yesterday, the President continues to have confidence in his national security team, including Mike Waltz. Stories claiming otherwise are driven by anonymous sources who clearly do not speak to the President, and written by reporters who are thirsty for a ‘scoop,’” Leavitt said in a subsequent post on X.
In Goldberg’s Wednesday report, he characterized the leaked plans as “attack plans” instead of war plans.
“The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT “war plans,” Leavitt posted on X Wednesday, adding that the “entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
How have Republicans reacted?
Republicans have largely expressed concern over how Goldberg was added to the group chat but have not called for resignations.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) expressed confidence in Waltz, telling Politico that the national security adviser should “absolutely not” resign and that he has “full confidence in him.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) called the incident an “unconscionable action,” according to Axios, expressing concern over the platform on which the discussion occurred.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Monday he expects classified briefings on the incident soon and added that it is a “concern.”
“It’s a concern and it’s a matter we just learned about today. I think we’ll absolutely be looking into it, no question … it appears that mistakes were made, no question,” Wicker said.
Democrats express outrage
Democrats have reacted more harshly than their GOP counterparts. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for Hegseth and Waltz to resign Tuesday.
When the stakes are this high, incompetence is not an option.
Pete Hegseth should resign.
Mike Waltz should resign.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 25, 2025
“When the stakes are this high, incompetence is not an option. Pete Hegseth should resign. Mike Waltz should resign,” Warner said in a post on X.
JEFFREY GOLDBERG SAYS HEGSETH LIED IN DISMISSING INTELLIGENCE LEAK
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday that he was “horrified” by reports that “sensitive and almost certainly classified information” was shared on a chat through Signal.
“If true, these actions are a brazen violation of laws and regulations that exist to protect national security, including the safety of Americans serving in harm’s way. These individuals know the calamitous risks of transmitting classified information across unclassified systems, and they know that if a lower ranking official under their command did what is described here, they would likely lose their clearance and be subject to criminal investigation,” Himes said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanded the Republican majority open a full investigation into the incident.
“This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time. What we have here are senior U.S. leaders, including the vice president and the secretary of defense, having classified discussions of military action over an unsecure app,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday.
“It is bad enough that a private citizen was added to this chain, but it is far worse that sensitive military information was exchanged on an unauthorized application — especially when that sensitive military information was so, so important,” he added.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called the incident “completely outrageous” and said that it “shocks the conscience.” He also demanded the GOP majority in the House open a “serious and substantive investigation” into the incident.
“It is yet another unprecedented example that our nation is increasingly more dangerous because of the elevation of reckless and mediocre individuals, including the secretary of defense. If House Republicans are truly serious about keeping America safe, and not simply being sycophants and enablers, they must join Democrats in a swift, serious, and substantive investigation into this unacceptable and irresponsible national security breach,” Jeffries said Monday.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg demanded accountability for the “screw-up” on Monday.
“If there’s no accountability for a screw-up like this, especially from a president who used to fire people every day on television for sport, what are we even doing here?” Buttigieg told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
CONGRESS ‘IRATE’ OVER ASTONISHING NATIONAL SECURITY BREACH
Goldberg responded to Hegseth’s claim that no “plans” were shared in the chat on CNN Monday evening. He said the defense secretary’s claim was “a lie.”
“He was texting war plans; he was texting attack plans, when targets were going to be targeted, how they were going to be targeted, who was at the targets when the next sequence of attacks were happening,” Goldberg said on Monday.
