Signal Chat Leak: United States National Security Advisor Mike Waltz faced backlash recently over an accidental leak of a Signal group chat of Donald Trump administration officials in the US that discussed plans for an upcoming strike on the Houthis in Yemen.
Many had called the leak a massive breach of national security, with some, including Vice President JD Vance, reportedly suggesting Waltz's ouster.
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US President Donald Trump, however, denied claims that classified information was shared in a Signal group. In fact, President Trump stood by Waltz and said that he does not need to apologise.
On Saturday, Trump reiterated his commitment to not fire anyone over an embarrassing accidental leak. "I don't fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News' Kristen Welker. The Presdient said that he had confidence in Mike Waltz and Pete Hegseth, his Pentagon chief.
What is the Signal Chat Leak?
Waltz inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic magazine, to a group text using the Signal encrypted messaging service where top officials were discussing plans to attack the Houthis.
The leak triggered a storm after Goldberg, wrote a first-person account of getting a connection request from what appeared to be Waltz on March 11 on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging service used by journalists and government officials in the United States.
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Signal Chat Leak: Who is Mike Waltz?
During the chat, Hegseth included details on how the strike would unfold before it took place.
Goldberg said he accepted the request and was then added to a chat group called "Houthi PC Small Group," where he proceeded to see a series of top Trump officials discuss what turned out to be an upcoming attack on the Houthis.
Asked if there were conversations about firing Waltz, Trump insisted, “I've never heard that. And nobody else makes that decision but me, and I've never heard it."
VP asks Trump to fire Waltz: Report
Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles and top personnel official Sergio Gor suggested, during a private meeting, that President Donald Trump should sack Mike Waltz, according to a report in Politico.
Perhaps it was time to consider showing him the door, they suggested, according to two people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to discuss them,” the report said.
The president agreed that Waltz had messed up, but Trump ultimately decided not to fire him for one reason for now. “They don’t want to give the press a scalp,” Politico quoted one of the people, a White House ally close with the team, saying.
Who is Mike Waltz?
I've never heard that. And nobody else makes that decision but me.
In November last year, Trump picked Mike Waltz, as his national security adviser. At that time, Trump called Walz "a nationally recognised leader in national security" and an “expert on the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran, and global terrorism.”
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Waltz succeeded Jake Sullivan as national security adviser, is a three-term Republican from St Augustine Beach, Florida, representing the Daytona Beach area in Congress since 2019.
(With AP inputs)
First Published
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30 Mar 2025, 06:41 AM IST
