In a significant security breach confirmed by the White House, top Trump administration officials discussed classified military plans for strikes in Yemen through an encrypted messaging app that accidentally included a journalist, raising serious national security concerns.

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, reported on March 25 that he was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat titled 'Houthi PC small group' by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz earlier this month [1]. The chat included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other senior officials discussing sensitive operational details about imminent military strikes.

The National Security Council confirmed the authenticity of the messages. 'The thread appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,' NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes stated [3].

The breach has sparked bipartisan concern in Congress, though with varying degrees of urgency. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) called it 'definitely a concern' and indicated his committee would investigate [1]. Democratic leaders demanded immediate action, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it 'one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence' he had seen [1].

Security experts highlighted multiple violations of protocol. The use of Signal, a commercial messaging app, for sharing classified operational details violates federal regulations requiring secure government communications channels [3]. The presence of an uncleared journalist in the chat potentially violated the Espionage Act's provisions on handling national defense information [7].

The messages revealed internal policy disagreements, including Vice President Vance questioning the timing and necessity of the strikes. 'I think we are making a mistake,' Vance wrote, expressing concern about oil prices and European interests [2].

Defense Secretary Hegseth has disputed the characterization of the messages, telling reporters 'nobody was texting war plans' and calling Goldberg 'deceitful' [1]. However, Goldberg maintained that the chat included 'specific time of a future attack... specific targets... weapons systems... precise detail' [7].

President Trump initially said he knew nothing about the incident, stating 'I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. It's going out of business' [1]. The White House later expressed continued confidence in the national security team [3].