Pete Hegseth's job is in jeopardy following the reveal that President Donald Trump's officials, including National Security Advisor Mark Waltz and VP JD Vance created a Signal chat group and mistakenly added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, where discussions about military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen were taking place.
The 'war plan' leak has raised questions about why the war plans were being discussed on Signal instead of secure government channels. Waltz has taken the blame on himself for the snafu, saying, "I built the group. My job is to make sure everything's coordinated." But how did the mistake happen, and why was Goldberg mistakenly added to the group?
Maybe Someone Important
Goldberg certainly was added by mistake, but who did Waltz or Hegseth actually want to added but was left out of the all-important conversation? It's possible that the intended recipient was U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, given the strikes' connection to trade routes.
Alternatively, Waltz—or someone on his team—may have confused "JG" for "JD," hastily tapped the "add" button, and only later realized the mistake, thinking, Wait, I thought I added Vance to this.
Greer also seems probable because the U.S. Trade Representative frequently attends National Security Council meetings. However, there has been no word from the Trump administration on this.
Meanwhile, The Atlantic magazine published more text messages from senior Trump administration officials on Wednesday revealing exact operational details and the specific weapons planned for use in strikes against the Houthis in Yemen earlier this month—despite the White House's attempts to deny that classified information was shared in the explosive Signal chat snafu.
Goldberg released more excerpts from the "Houthi PC small group channel," detailing specifics of the March 15 strike, putting Pete Hegseth's job hanging by a thread.
The Defense Secretary yesterday dismissed claims that classified information had been shared and even questioned the authenticity of the chat. However, his denial has been proved wrong.
Total Chaos
Hegseth messaged other senior cabinet officials about the exact timing and weapons systems used in the March 15 strikes on Yemen. Hegseth, a former Fox News journalist, unintentionally revealed precise details, including the launch timing of F-18s for a "first strike package," the specific MQ-9 drones that would be used, and the exact moment "the first bombs will definitely drop."
"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," the editor wrote, referring to one message fired off by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Pentagon chief seemingly jeopardized the safety of American troops by revealing specific details of a planned airstrike in an unsecured group chat at least 31 minutes before the first bombs were deployed.
Goldberg first revealed on Monday that he was accidentally added on March 11 to a Signal message thread where senior Trump administration officials—including Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Vice President JD Vance—were discussing plans to bomb the Houthi terror group in Yemen.
