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 Hegseth after news broke that the pair and other Trump administration officials discussed plans for an attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen on a text chain that mistakenly included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic.
Asked by The Hill if Waltz, who apparently added The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat on Signal, and Hegseth, who according to Goldberg shared the sensitive details ahead of the offensive, should be disciplined, Johnson responded “no, no of course not.”
“The administration, as I understand, I just was with the president in the Oval Office, just now, the administration is addressing what happened,” Johnson said when asked if he was concerned about the report. “Apparently an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re gonna track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Pressed on whether it was irresponsible of top-level national security officials to talk on a text chain and not in a facility designed to safeguard sensitive information, Johnson responded: “I’m not gonna characterize what happened.”
“Clearly, I think the administration has acknowledged it was a mistake and they’ll tighten up and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he added.
The White House has sounded a similar note when it comes to their confidence in Waltz and Hegseth, saying the president still has faith in the pair’s ability to carry out their roles.
“As President Trump said, the attacks on the Houthis have been highly successful and effective. President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Hill in an emailed statement.
Goldberg published a story Monday afternoon detailing his experience being added to a group chat on Signal, an encrypted messaging service, full of high-level national security officials that discussed the administration’s plans to attack the Houthis in Yemen.
Goldberg said he received a connection request from a user named “Michael Waltz” on March 11, was added to a group chat called “Houthi PC small group” on March 13 — which Waltz appeared to have created — and witnessed discussions about the attack plans over the next two days. Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are believed to have been included in the group as well, based on the names of user accounts.
At 11:44 a.m. on March 15, Hegseth sent the group operational details about the Yemen strikes, which Goldberg said he would not quote from because “the information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility.”
The strikes took place just hours later.
Brian Hughes, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, said the text chain appeared to be 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.”
Monday afternoon, Trump said he was not aware of the report in The Atlantic.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic; to me it’s a magazine that is going out of business,” Trump said. “I know nothing about it. You’re saying that they had what?”
Pressed by a reporter on the fact that the officials were using Signal to discuss sensitive information, Trump asked what the information pertained to, prompting the reporter to respond “the Houthis.”
“You mean the attack on the Houthis?” Trump added. “Well, it couldn’t have been very effective, because the attack was very effective, I can tell you that. I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time.”
Johnson sounded a similar note, pointing to the “success” of the attack and telling reporters in the Capitol that the discussion in the Signal group reflected the administration officials “doing their job.”
“What you did see, though, I think, was top-level officials doing their job, doing it well and executing on a plan with precision,” Johnson said. “That mission was a success, no one was jeopardized because of it, we’re grateful for that, but they will certainly, I’m sure, make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
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