House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stated on Monday evening that White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should not be disciplined over a Signal chat that reportedly included discussions about striking a Yemeni terrorist group.
Johnson was asked by reporters about a report from The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who claimed he was inadvertently added to the Signal group where Waltz and Hegseth allegedly shared plans for an attack on the Houthis.
“Of course not,” Johnson replied when asked if the two should face punishment.
“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 regarding Goldberg’s report.
Johnson also minimized the incident’s significance, stating, “Apparently, an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re going to track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Goldberg’s report claimed the Signal chat “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” Strikes occurred two hours after Goldberg received the details.
It remains unclear whether the military details were classified, though such information is typically secured to protect service members and operational security.
The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against the Houthis since the group began targeting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.
President Donald Trump initially told reporters he was unaware of the sensitive information being shared but later commented, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” suggesting Waltz would not resign.
The National Security Council confirmed it is investigating how a journalist’s number was added to the chat, which also included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence.
When questioned about the war plans upon arriving in Hawaii, Hegseth denied the claims, stating, “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” while criticizing Goldberg’s journalism.
Goldberg responded by standing by his reporting, calling Hegseth’s remarks “unserious and trying to deflect from the fact that he participated in a conversation on an unclassified commercial messaging app.”
The incident follows federal advisories urging officials to switch from standard text messaging to encrypted platforms like Signal, WhatsApp, and BrightChat.
