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Signal leak fallout spreads as lawmakers press Trump officials for answers

The Atlantic magazine published Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s messages to a group chat detailing the times and weapons used to strike Houthi targets in Yemen, as the fallout deepened over Trump administration officials using the encrypted chat app Signal to discuss classified war plans.

In a new article published Wednesday morning, Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, posted pictures of messages Hegseth sent the chat – which included Trump’s highest-level national security officials – listing the planned launch times of F-18s and Tomahawks. Goldberg discovered the chat in mid-March when Mike Waltz, Trump’s top national security advisor, accidentally added him.

The White House acknowledged that Goldberg was accidentally added to the chat. In a Tuesday Fox News interview, Waltz took “full responsibility” for letting in Goldberg, promising to “get to the bottom of it.”

The Trump administration’s use of Signal, a messaging app publicly available on the app store, for sharing its war plans ignited mounting concerns over the national security breach. On Capitol Hill, the topic dominated a previously-scheduled House Intelligence Committee hearing featuring testimony from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel.

CIA director and House Democrat have testy back and forth over Hegseth’s drinking
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., asked CIA Director John Ratcliffe whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was drinking before he “leaked classified information” about a strike on Houthis in Yemen.

Ratcliffe responded: “I think that’s an offensive line of questioning. The answer is no.”

Ratcliffe and Gomez then spoke over each other as the Democratic lawmaker sought to reclaim his time and ask a new question while Ratcliffe sought to explain further.

“This was a question that was on the top of minds of every American,” Gomez argued. “Of course we want to know if his performance is compromised.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/26/hegseth-atlantic-war-plans-group-chat-updates/82669460007/
As Hegseth’s nomination as Defense secretary was being considered by the U.S. Senate earlier this year, multiple people raised concerns that he had problematic drinking habits and that he drank on the job. Hegseth denied he has a drinking problem and pledged to quit drinking if he was confirmed.

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