The Trump administration is at the center of an extraordinary national security lapse in which a journalist was added to an encrypted group chat of senior U.S. officials, unbeknownst to them, in which they debated whether the United States should attack the Houthis.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were part of a Signal chat that discussed the president’s options regarding the Yemeni-based Houthis. Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, was also added to the chat, the outlet reported. Goldberg writes in the article that he was unsure of the veracity of the group, speculating that it might have been disinformation or a simulation, but says he was essentially tipped off to strikes in Yemen two hours before the operation took place.
In the group chat, named “Houthi PC small group,” various Trump administration officials weighed in on whether the president should support an operation against the Houthis, which the president decided in favor of going ahead with.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the Washington Examiner: “This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.
“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a member of the House Armed Services committee, posted on X shortly after the Atlantic’s article dropped: “Only one word for this: FUBAR [f***ed up beyond all recognition]. If House Republicans won’t hold a hearing on how this happened IMMEDIATELY, I’ll do it my damn self.”
In addition to the security breach ahead of the strikes, the publication of the texts provides insight into the thoughts senior officials had prior to the president’s decision to move ahead with launching a military campaign against the Houthis.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself,” the account linked to Vance said. “But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
Hegseth responded shortly thereafter, saying, “VP: I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.”
One day after the back-and-forth and subsequent discussion, Hegseth shared classified information about the target set and hours later, Waltz described the operation as an “amazing job.”
The U.S. military has conducted dozens of strikes on the Houthis, which began slightly more than a week ago. The intent of the strikes is to reclaim the freedom for vessels to navigate through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where more than a year of sustained Houthi attacks on those ships have forced companies to divert their assets to a much longer and expensive route around the southern tip of the African continent.
Several U.S. agencies under the Trump administration have commenced investigations into leaks to the media during their first couple months in power.
Hegseth’s chief of staff Joe Kasper issued a memo last week regarding unauthorized leaks asking the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security to assist in trying to ascertain the responsible parties. Kasper said they would use polygraphs in the investigation and any individual found responsible “will be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution.”
Goldberg and Trump have butted heads in the past. During Trump’s first term, Goldberg reported that in 2018, the president declined to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris, referring to U.S. troops killed in battle as “losers” and “suckers,” though Trump and other officials denied the reporting.
