The White House has defended its national security team following the inadvertent inclusion of a journalist in a Signal Chat in the days leading up to US aerial strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen on March 15, 2025. Officials emphasized that no classified information was transmitted, and no war plans were discussed.

At a White House press briefing on March 26th, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated, “We have said all along, no war plans were discussed, no classified material was sent,” underscoring that this was affirmed under oath by the Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, Director of National Intelligence, and the FBI Director before the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 25th. 

“They should be trusted,” she added. “I would characterize this messaging thread as a policy discussion, a sensitive policy discussion amongst high level cabinet officials and senior staff,” she said noting that is how the White House perceives about the whole incident. 

When pressed on whether classified information was shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the group where The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Leavitt pointed to the Secretary of Defense’s statement: “He listed things that were not included in that messaging thread, that were not classified.”

“Nobody’s texting war plans,” Secretary Hegseth told reporters on March 26th in Hawaii.

Leavitt also used the opportunity to highlight the strength of President Trump’s national security team, stating they are working tirelessly across the globe to address foreign policy challenges inherited from the previous administration.

She confirmed that NSA Waltz has taken responsibility for the mishap, and that both the National Security Council and the White House Counsel’s Office are reviewing how a journalist’s number was inadvertently added.

“We have said all along that no classified material was sent on this messaging thread. There were no locations, no sources or methods revealed, and there were certainly no war plans discussed,” Leavitt described. “The Atlantic has even admitted this themselves. Their release of these internal messages validates the truth which we have been saying all along.”

Leavitt criticized what she described as a politically motivated media response, asserting that “Democrats and their propagandists in the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate, and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well.” She singled out Goldberg, calling him an “anti-Trump hater” and a “registered Democrat” with ties to Hillary Clinton.

Shifting focus, Leavitt framed the real story as the success of President Trump’s military action against Houthi terrorists. She outlined how, on March 15th, the President ordered a series of military strikes against Houthi targets to protect U.S. shipping assets in the Red Sea and restore freedom of navigation. The strikes resulted in the elimination of several Houthi leaders.

She contrasted Trump’s decisive action with the Biden administration’s policies, arguing that “Joe Biden’s weakness enabled and emboldened Houthi terrorists, and President Trump’s strength and resolve eliminated those terrorists.”

Praising the leadership of the President, Leavitt maintained that he went in front of the White House press corps telling Leavitt that “I will tackle this story. I will discuss it. People need to hear from me about this situation.”

Leavitt also defended the administration’s use of Signal App, emphasizing that the CIA Director testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that it is an approved, encrypted app used by the Department of Defense, State Department, and intelligence agencies.

Addressing claims by The Wall Street Journal that Steve Witkoff, the President’s special envoy for Russia-Ukraine negotiations, used Signal on a personal device in Moscow, Leavitt dismissed the report as “erroneously reported,” and “absolutely false.” 

She clarified that “Steve Witkoff, did not have his personal device, nor did he have his government device with him. He was given a classified, protected server by the United States government, and he was very careful about his communications when he was in Russia,” she added. 

When asked whether anyone would be fired over the incident, Leavitt said she had spoken to the President before the briefing and that he “continues to have confidence in his national security team.”

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