Buttigieg assails leak as 'highest level of f‑‑‑up imaginable'
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg slammed Trump administration officials for reportedly discussing plans for an attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen on a text chain that inadvertently included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
“From an operational security perspective, this is the highest level of f‑‑‑up imaginable,” Buttigieg, a Navy veteran, wrote in a post on X, responding to the report in The Atlantic on Monday.
“These people cannot keep America safe,” he continued.
Goldberg on Monday reported a first-person account of his experience being included in a group chat on Signal in which top officials debated and then discussed details of attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The initial invite to the group apparently came from national security adviser Mike Waltz. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly sent the group details including weapons used, targets and timing — two hours ahead of the attacks, which began March 15.
Others in the group were Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Goldberg wrote that he initially had strong doubts the text group was real, “because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans.”
Goldberg also said he “could not believe that the national security adviser to the president would be so reckless as to include him in the discussions with senior U.S. officials.”
Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the National Security Council, confirmed the message chain was authentic.
“This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” Hughes wrote. “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.”
The reporting made waves on Monday and prompted fierce blowback from Democratic officials who slammed the officials as irresponsible and some who called for investigations into the incident.
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