The White House confirmed to the Daily Caller on Monday that President Donald Trump’s national security team accidentally leaked a war plan to the Atlantic in a group chat.
Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of Atlantic Published Monday’s article details how it was incorrectly included in group chats with Cabinet officials on Signal, a secure messaging platform used by politicians and journalists. The editors identified as editor-in-chief include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Deputy White House Chief Stephen Miller, Prime Minister Susie Wills, National Intelligence Director Tarsi Gabbard, and Vice President JD Vance. In a chat entitled “Houthi PC Small Group,” Cabinet officials discussed the bombing of Houthis and Hegseth was mistakenly included in Waltz’s chat, according to Goldberg, Hegseth shared the military’s plan to carry out the attack.
“At 11:44am, an account labeled “Pete Hegseth” posted a “Team Update” on Signal A. I will not quote from this update or from the specific subsequent text contained within them.
“What I say is, to explain the shocking recklessness of this signal conversation, Hegus’s post included operational details of upcoming strikes in Yemen, including information about the target, weapons deployed by the US, and attack sequences,” he continued.
“According to the long Hegseth text, the first explosion in Yemen can be felt at two hours, at 1:45pm Eastern time. So I was waiting in the car in the supermarket car park. Yemen. Afterwards, the explosions were heard throughout Sanaa, the capital city,” the Goldberg article added.
US President Donald Trump meets NATO Executive Director Mark Latte at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 13, 2025, and sits on L to R to see Vice President J.D. Vance Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, Mike Waltz and national security advisor Mike Watts, special Envoy and Russia Keith Keloguan Ambus Abus Ambus Matt. (Photo by Mandel NGAN/AFP by Getty Images)
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said he believed the message was authentic at the time of publication, and that he calls it an investigation into how the false numbers were added to the chain.
“This thread is an empirical demonstration of deep and thoughtful policy coordination among senior officials. The continued success of Operation Houthi shows that there was no threat to service members or national security,” Hughes said in a statement provided to callers.
President Donald Trump said he is unaware of the story and clear leaks of the war plan. Goldberg said he chose to quit group chat on March 15 after the attack on Houthis was carried out, and appears to have informed Waltz that he saw the message.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a huge Atlantic fan… what are you saying they have?” Trump said Monday after announcing new infrastructure investments.
“You’re the first time you’re telling me about it,” Trump added.
US Vice President J.D. Vice President J.D. Vance will listen as Donald Trump and the US Secretary of Defense at the White House’s Oval Office on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has announced the F-47, the next-generation Air Control (NGDA) program, a sixth-generation high-tech Air Force fighter jet, to take over the F-22 Raptor. (Photo: Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
Cabinet officials overwhelmed the action before Hegseth sent out a war plan to attack Houthis, according to Goldberg. The accounts identified by the editor-in-chief when Vance pushed back the planned lawsuit, arguing that the administration might need more time to convince the American people, and that the move would contradict Trump’s recent European strength.
“I don’t know how inconsistent this is with his message in Europe right now. There is an additional risk that oil prices will be seen moderate to severe spikes. I’m willing to support the team’s consensus and maintain these concerns to myself.
The Vice President’s office provided a statement to the caller, highlighting that Trump and Vance are in Rockstep.
“The Vice President’s top priority is to ensure that the president’s advisors are fully informed to him about what their internal deliberations are,” Will Martin, Vance’s communications director, told the caller. “Vice President Vance is clearly supportive of the administration’s foreign policy. The President and Vice President have had subsequent conversations on this issue and are fully agreed.”
According to Goldberg, Hegseth, Waltz and Miller weighed all of the weight before the Cabinet decided to proceed with the plan. After Hegseth explained to the chat about the plan, Waltz offered an update that encouraged the rest of the group to celebrate the attack, he wrote. (Related: Trump was able to end the world’s busiest transport lane, which terrorizes Iran-backed rebel groups.)
“John Ratcliffe” wrote, according to the Atlantic, “John Ratcliffe” was a “good start.”
“Good Job and Your Team!” users considered “Mar” (suggesting that the Atlantic Inals was Marco Antonio Rubio) and “Sussie Wills” were “a praised by everyone.
