The White House has declared the controversy around a Signal chat for a military strike that inadvertently included a journalist to be “closed,” but the episode has left some in President Trump’s orbit distrustful of national security adviser Mike Waltz.
White House officials are eager to move past the controversy, in which Waltz mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, to a group of administration officials discussing planned strikes against the Houthis. The White House has offered no specifics on any discipline handed down or protocol changes to avoid future mishaps.
“The case is closed and the president continues to have confidence in his national security adviser,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
Despite Leavitt’s words, the controversy may linger as lawmakers ask questions about the Signal chat. Senate Democrats held a press conference to spotlight the issue Tuesday.
Trump has been annoyed by the saga, according to sources close to the White House, and with Waltz in particular, given he was the one who created the chat that included Goldberg.
The president has publicly praised Waltz as a “good man,” and Trump is loath to be seen as giving in to what he views as calls from the media and Democrats to fire someone, sources close to the White House said.
Ousting a national security adviser so early into his second term would curry unflattering comparisons to his first term, when Trump fired Michael Flynn from the same position after roughly three weeks.
Multiple White House officials have cited the lack of firings in the Biden administration over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to argue demands for firings over the Signal controversy are disingenuous.
Still, the incident has put an uncomfortable spotlight on Waltz.
He’s faced questions about his past support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, something at odds with Trump’s criticism of leadership in Kyiv and his willingness to broker a deal with Moscow to end the war.
The fact Waltz had Goldberg’s number in his phone in the first place has also raised difficult questions for the national security adviser, particularly as Trump and others in the White House bash Goldberg as a partisan hack.
A Washington Post report on Tuesday that Waltz and some aides used personal Gmail accounts for government business will add further scrutiny.
“Waltz has built up capital,” said one source close to the White House, citing his relationship with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his allies on Capitol Hill and his work on issues in the Middle East and Ukraine that have dominated Trump’s foreign policy.
Some observers have wondered why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not facing more heat from the controversy because he is the one who sent messages with specific timing about the Houthi strikes. After all, his judgment was at the center of his fraught confirmation battle, which at one point appeared doomed before the full MAGA apparatus rallied to his side.
Sources said Hegseth is on stronger footing with Trump in part because he’s a longtime member of the president’s orbit and is viewed by the MAGA faithful as a true believer of the movement.
“Let me tell you right now, our movement will awaken from its slumber if you dare lay a hand on Pete ...
