Trump considers firing Cabinet members involved in Signal leak scandal

President Trump may fire top members of his national security team after a leaked Signal group chat exposed sensitive U.S. military strike details to a journalist.

The situation, confirmed during a White House press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, involves Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and others who discussed airstrike plans in a private Signal thread that accidentally included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Goldberg received the real-time messages and later published them, triggering backlash across the government.

During the press briefing, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, was asked whether anyone would be fired over the leak. She dodged the question. “What I can say definitively is what I just spoke to the president about, and he continues to have confidence in his national security team,” she said.

The group chat in question contained detailed discussions about U.S. military operations against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, including exact timing, weapons, and aircraft involved.

The screenshots, published by The Atlantic, revealed that the administration used a nonsecure messaging app to share information that many defense officials have described as highly sensitive. In one of the leaked texts, Pete wrote that F-18s and drones would begin a strike at 2:10 p.m., and listed the types of missiles that would be used.

In another message, Mike told the group that the airstrike had apparently taken out “the top missile guy” for the Houthis.

He added that there were “multiple positive ID,” which suggested U.S. intelligence had successfully used either humans or tech to locate the targets. The messages also showed back-and-forth between Trump officials over trade benefits for Europe, discussed openly in the same thread.

Leaked messages reveal strike details and trigger Senate hearings

The Atlantic said on Wednesday that it published the messages because the White House was trying to spin the incident. The outlet wrote, “There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.”

Although not every message was made public, most were released in screenshot form. The one name left out was a CIA intelligence officer who serves as the chief of staff to CIA Director John Ratcliffe. But even without that, the content still triggered internal fallout. Some defense officials told The Atlantic that Pete’s texts were “reckless and dangerous.” The piece, co-written by Goldberg and Shane Harris, warned that the specifics could have compromised the safety of U.S. pilots if they had fallen into hostile hands.

“If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds,” Goldberg and Harris wrote. “The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.”

The fallout led to hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, where Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were questioned by lawmakers. When asked whether specific times or weapons were discussed in the chat, Tulsi responded that she could not recall. Meanwhile, inside the White House, officials were unsure how to proceed. Some began questioning Mike’s cleanup approach, saying it was creating more problems for Trump.

In an interview Tuesday night, Trump defended Mike. “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson and he’s a good man,” he said. But Trump said nothing about Pete or JD. Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on multiple fronts. Sen. Mark Kelly posted that Pete should resign. “The Signal incident is what happens when you have the most unqualified Secretary of Defense we’ve ever seen,” he said. “We’re lucky it didn’t cost any servicemembers their lives, but for the safety of our military and our country, Secretary Hegseth needs to resign.”

Trump allies downplay scandal while lawmakers demand resignations

Mike responded publicly on X on Wednesday, posting: “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.”

JD also spoke out. “It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had,” he said. “But one thing in particular really stands out. Remember when he was attacking Ratcliffe for blowing the cover for a CIA agent? Turns out Ratcliffe was simply naming his chief of staff.”

Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also defended the administration, saying The Atlantic exaggerated. “The description of the conversation as ‘war plans’ is an embellishment and exaggeration by known left-wing partisan opponents of the president,” he said. “What I think is most important here is not the way this information was communicated, but the actions that were taken to actually attack the rebels.”

Despite the defenses, several top Democrats called for immediate resignations. That included House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Mark Warner, and Rep. Don Beyer, all of whom demanded that Pete and others be removed.

As the situation spiraled, Trump officials tried to shift the conversation. Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, along with the Pentagon’s rapid response account on X, focused on the wording in The Atlantic’s follow-up article. They pointed out that the publication had changed “war plans” to “attack plans” in its headline. That edit did nothing to slow down the scrutiny or the growing number of demands for firings.

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced Tuesday that it would investigate how the chat ended up in Goldberg’s hands in the first place. The White House has not identified who added the journalist to the Signal group. But the mistake created a direct pipeline from the Pentagon to the press, giving The Atlantic access to internal war discussions in real time. Trump’s team is now trying to assess the damage while deciding who, if anyone, will be held responsible.

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