Outrage in Washington after journalist included in war plans group chat

Defense &
National Security

The Big Story

Outrage after journalist included in officials' war plans group chat

All Washington could talk about Monday was the revelation that senior Trump administration officials included a journalist in a highly sensitive war plans group chat.

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, revealed the top officials appeared to mistakenly add him to a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal, in which they 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.

In the stunning report, Goldberg claimed Waltz connected with him on Signal on March 11 and, two days later, he was invited to join a chain called the “Houthi PC small group,” in which they discussed strikes against the Houthi militant group in Yemen — seemingly unaware of the journalist’s presence in the group.

He wrote that he initially had strong doubts the text group was real as he could not believe that the U.S. national security leadership would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans, nor that Waltz "would be so reckless as to include him in the discussions with senior U.S. officials.”

Brian Hughes, the 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,” wrote Hughes. “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.”

News of the highly sensitive information breach quickly drew damning comments from the left, who lambasted the administration for both its carelessness in handling the communications and calling hypocrisy on Trump repeatedly demanding that Hillary Clinton be jailed for using a private email server for official business when she was secretary of State.

Expect more fallout in the days to come, as Democrats have called on congressional Republicans to have Hegseth testify before Congress and “be held accountable.”

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:

John Bolton blasts Trump officials for using Signal to conduct government business

Former national security adviser John Bolton went after multiple Trump administration officials on Monday for reportedly using the messaging app Signal to conduct government business. “I couldn’t imagine anybody would use Signal,” Bolton told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on “The Arena.” “You know, some of the guests have commented that Signal’s highly encrypted. I’ll just say this, if you think Signal is equivalent to U.S. …

Full Story

5 takeaways from Trump officials war planning group chat breach

Washington was rocked Monday by a truly extraordinary story. The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, recounted how he had — apparently inadvertently — been added to a group chat featuring some of the most senior members of the United States government. Even more dramatically, the purpose of the chat, on the messaging app Signal, was to discuss a then-imminent U.S. attack on Houthi targets in Yemen earlier this …

Full Story

Jeffries calls for investigation of top Trump officials after bombshell military breach

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is calling for Congress to investigate top Trump administration officials in the wake of a bombshell revelation that The Atlantic’s top editor was included in a group chat discussion detailing the Pentagon’s plans to strike Yemen. Jeffries said the details of the breach, outlined by Jeffrey Goldberg on Monday, reveal a “reckless” administration — one stocked with an “unqualified” …

Full Story

On Our Radar

Upcoming things we're watching on our beat:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is traveling this week, with scheduled stops in Hawaii, the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, as well as the Philippines, Guam and Japan.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname. While in Jamaica, he will hold bilateral engagements with heads of state from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Vance on Trump admin’s plans to bomb Houthis: ‘I just hate bailing Europe out again’

Vice President Vance reportedly said that he disliked “bailing Europe out again” when discussing Trump administration plans to bomb Houthi rebels in a group chat featuring other administration officials. According to a new report from The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, he gained access …

Full Story

On Tap Tomorrow

Events in and around the defense world:

The Heritage Foundation will hold a virtual discussion on “Building America’s Missile Defense Shield,” with Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), at 11 a.m.
Atlantic Council will host a book discussion on “Putin’s Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine,” with author Lucian Kim, senior analyst for Ukraine at the International Crisis Group, at 11 a.m.
A Senate Armed Services subcommittee will hear from Navy officials on current shipbuilding goals and challenges at 2:30 p.m.
U.S. Transportation Command head Gen. Randall Reed will testify before a House Armed Services subpanel on fiscal 2026 budget needs, at 3:30 p.m.
A Senate Armed Services subcommittee will hear from outside experts on potential uses of artificial intelligence for the defense community, at 3:30 p.m.

What We're Reading

News we've flagged from other outlets:

Senate Democrats plan ‘shadow hearings’ on controversial VA cuts (Military Times)
Philippines, US kick off army drills ahead of Hegseth visit (The Economic Times)
The Pentagon’s DEI purge: Officials describe a scramble to remove and then restore online content (The Associated Press)

Trending Today

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Speaker Johnson: Waltz, Hegseth shouldn’t be disciplined over war plans Signal chat

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday dismissed any potential disciplinary action for national security adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete … Read more

Atlantic journalist says Trump officials included him in war plans group chat

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, was apparently included in a Trump administration group chat on Signal in which top officials debated … Read more

Opinions in The Hill

Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:

Topics

Hegseth Disclosed Secret War Plans in Group Chat With Atlantic Journalist

The conversation among the defense secretary and other national security officials on a commercial messaging app mistakenly included the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.
The New York Times - 17h
National security council investigating after Trump officials accidentally text journalist top-secret Yemen war plans – as it happened

This blog has now closed. You can read more of our US politics coverage here . Outrage after White House accidentally texts journalist war plans: ‘Huge screw-up’ White House inadvertently ...
The Guardian - 20h
Trump defends national security team after journalist added to chat on Yemen strike

President Trump defended his national security team as an "amazing group" after a journalist from The Atlantic revealed he was inadvertently added to a Signal chat about military plans for strikes ...
NBC News - 3h
Atlantic journalist says Trump officials included him in war plans group chat

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, was apparently included in a Trump administration group chat on Signal in which top officials debated and then discussed details of attacks ...
The Hill - 1d
Top US officials added journalist to group chat on Yemen strike plans

A National Security Council spokesman said in a statement the reported chat "appears to be authentic"
BBC News - 19h
House Republican calls for 'safeguards' after war plan text chat

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) called for “safeguards” to be implemented to ensure the leaking of war plans doesn’t happen again after a journalist was included in a Signal group chat discussing ...
The Hill - 1d
Waltz attacks Atlantic journalist over war plan chat, says they 'never met'

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz on Tuesday sought to distance himself from Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was mistakenly included in a group chat with Waltz and ...
The Hill - 2h
White House pushes back at war plans group chat story

The White House on Tuesday sought to downplay the significance of a journalist being added to a group chat of administration officials discussing plans for attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen. ...
The Hill - 9h
Hegseth denies war plans shared in group text

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke for the first time since the story broke that a national security team accidentally included a magazine editor in a group text where they discussed plans to ...
NBC News - 21h