The White House is still reeling after a staggering security blunder that saw a journalist being accidentally added to a group chat in which top Trump administration officials discuss secret U.S. military plans.
Jeffery Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to the “Houthi PC small group” on Signal—a commercial messaging app—whose members included JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
The extraordinary security oversight, which immediately sparked uproar from Democrats and Republicans alike, revealed that highly sensitive military plans were being discussed outside appropriate government classified systems.
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended Waltz—who is facing pressure to resign—telling NBC News that Waltz has “learned a lesson” and praising him as “a good man.”
Here are some of the messages sent in the Signal group chat.
![Recreation of Signal message conversation between Trump Cabinet members regarding bombings of the Houthi in Yemen5
From Joe Kent
There is nothing time sensitive driving the time line. We’ll have the exact same options in a month.
From John Ratcliffe - REDACTED
From Pete Hegseth
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.
From Pete Hegseth
Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both. We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC. I welcome other thoughts.](https://www.thedailybeast.com/resizer/v2/7FGBS2LHVBDOXN6F65KUO2PGQM.jpg?auth=41db6f613f288b23270005f2f73f651cb20e508fe07d904bcda3e9e30990b03c&width=800&height=1661)
