Trump Stands By Top Official After Breach

National security adviser Michael Waltz is a 'good man,' says the president
Posted Mar 25, 2025 10:04 AM CDT
Trump Defends Adviser Waltz After High-Profile Breach
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, left, speaks with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office on Feb. 24.   (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

It doesn't appear that any heads will roll on Tuesday after a major security breach came to light on Monday. In an interview with NBC News, President Trump defended national security adviser Michael Waltz, who has been taking flak from the left and right after a journalist was mistakenly added to a group text chat on the Signal platform about a pending military strike. "Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump said in the interview.

  • Trump said the inadvertent addition of Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic to the group chat about a strike on Houthi rebels had "no impact at all" on the subsequent military operation.
  • Asked about how the gaffe happened, the president said the fault lay with "one of Michael's people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there." He added that it was "the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one."

Meanwhile, the fallout continues over the extraordinary incident.

  • Hillary Clinton: "You have got to be kidding me," tweeted the former senator, first lady, and presidential contender, per the Hill.
  • White House: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed Trump's comments, saying the president "continues to have confidence in his national security team," per Politico. She dismissed reports that Waltz might be on his way out as bogus and called Goldberg a "sensationalist."
  • Senate: The topic was on track to dominate a Tuesday hearing of the Senate intelligence panel, notes the New York Times. Early on, Democrat Mark Warner condemned the "sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior" of the officials in the group chat, which also included defense chief Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence.
(More President Trump stories.)

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