Washington, D.C. – March 24, 2025 – Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, reported today that he was inadvertently added to a Signal messaging group chat containing some of the Trump administration’s highest-ranking officials as they planned military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The incident, detailed in Goldberg’s article titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” published on March 24, 2025, in The Atlantic, exposes what he calls a “shocking recklessness” in handling sensitive military operations and raises serious questions about the administration’s communication protocols.
The extraordinary breach began innocently enough on March 11, 2025, when Goldberg received a connection request on Signal, an encrypted messaging app widely used for its privacy features, from a user identified as “Michael Waltz.” Goldberg, a seasoned journalist with decades of experience covering national security, assumed this was Michael Waltz, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. “I did not assume, however, that the request was from the actual Michael Waltz,” Goldberg wrote, citing the Trump administration’s historically contentious relationship with the press, including Trump’s personal criticisms of him and The Atlantic (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025).
Despite his skepticism, Goldberg accepted the request, suspecting it might be a legitimate outreach or, conversely, a prank or disinformation attempt. Two days later, on March 13, he received a notification adding him to a group chat labeled “Houthi PC small group,” shorthand for a principals committee—a gathering of Cabinet-level officials and senior advisers typically convened to deliberate critical national security matters. The chat included accounts appearing to belong to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and other prominent figures such as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Trump confidant Stephen Miller—18 participants in total (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025).
Goldberg initially doubted the chat’s authenticity. “I had very strong doubts that this text group was real, because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans,” he noted, adding that he found it equally implausible that Waltz would “be so reckless as to include the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in such discussions” (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025). Yet, as events unfolded, those doubts would soon be dispelled.
The turning point came on March 15 at 11:44 a.m. ET, when an account identified as Pete Hegseth posted a “TEAM UPDATE” to the group. According to Goldberg, this message contained “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” While Goldberg withheld the full text to avoid compromising American personnel, he emphasized its specificity: the message predicted the first detonations in Yemen would occur at 1:45 p.m. ET—roughly two hours later (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025).
Intrigued and alarmed, Goldberg decided to test the chat’s veracity. He parked his car in a supermarket lot and waited, monitoring news updates and social media. At approximately 1:55 p.m. ET, reports of explosions in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, began surfacing on X, aligning almost precisely with the timeline Hegseth had provided. “The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen,” Goldberg wrote. “I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming” (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025).
Returning to the Signal chat, Goldberg observed a flurry of reactions. At 1:48 p.m., “Michael Waltz” posted an update, describing the operation as an “amazing job.” Minutes later, “John Ratcliffe” chimed in with “A good start,” followed by Waltz’s response: a fist emoji, an American flag, and a fire symbol. Other participants joined the celebration: “MAR” (presumed to be Marco Rubio) wrote, “Good Job Pete and your team!!”; Susie Wiles added, “Kudos to all – most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless”; and “Steve Witkoff” contributed five emojis: praying hands, a flexed bicep, and two American flags (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025). The chat also included post-strike assessments, such as the likely death of a specific Houthi figure, though casualty figures remain unverified beyond the Houthi-run Yemeni health ministry’s claim of 53 deaths.
Goldberg quietly exited the chat and sought answers from the administration. Brian Hughes, a National Security Council spokesman, confirmed the chat’s authenticity in a statement to The Atlantic: “This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.” Hughes downplayed the incident’s severity, asserting, “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” (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025).
When asked about the breach by a reporter on March 24, President Trump claimed ignorance. “I don’t know anything about it. You are telling me about it for the first time,” he said, according to CNN (CNN Politics, March 24, 2025). The White House has not elaborated further, but the NSC’s acknowledgment has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s practices.
The strikes targeted Houthi militants, an Iran-backed group that has disrupted Red Sea shipping lanes with attacks on commercial vessels, prompting a U.S. response to restore navigation freedom. Announced by Trump on March 15 via Truth Social, the operation involved air and naval strikes on radar systems, air defenses, and missile sites, aiming to deter Iran as well (The New York Times, March 15, 2025). Michael Waltz later defended the strikes on ABC’s This Week, contrasting them with the Biden administration’s “feckless” approach and calling them an “overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders” (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025).
Within the chat, however, not all were fully aligned. Vice President Vance expressed reservations, reportedly telling Hegseth, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” and warning of potential oil price spikes (New York Magazine, March 24, 2025). Vance’s office later clarified to The Atlantic that he “unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy,” suggesting his comments reflected tactical, not strategic, dissent.
The use of Signal—a commercial app not approved for classified U.S. government communications—has drawn sharp criticism. Experts argue that discussing operational details in such a forum, let alone with an unintended journalist present, may violate the Espionage Act or Presidential Records Act. Shane Harris, a veteran national security reporter now with The Atlantic, wrote on Bluesky, “In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this” (The Guardian, March 24, 2025). Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a House Armed Services Committee member, called it “FUBAR” on X, demanding an immediate hearing (Washington Examiner, March 24, 2025).
Goldberg himself described the breach as unprecedented. “I have never seen a breach quite like this,” he wrote. “It is not uncommon for national-security officials to communicate on Signal. But the app is used primarily for meeting planning and other logistical matters—not for detailed and highly confidential discussions of a pending military action” (The Atlantic, March 24, 2025). Theories abound about how Goldberg was added—some speculate Waltz mistook him for U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who shares the initials “JG”—but no definitive explanation has emerged.
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