White House denies ‘war plans,’ classified information discussed in Signal chat on Yemen
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Officials with the White House’s National Security Council say they “are reviewing” how a journalist could have been “inadvertently” added to an 18-member group chat that included several of the nation’s top military officials.
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, wrote in a piece published Monday that he was added to a group chat in the commercially available Signal app in which officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz, were discussing impeding strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen. Goldberg said he was apparently added to the chat by Waltz.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to remain confident in Waltz, saying “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson and is a good man,” according to NBC News.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the review on Tuesday, but said that that “no ‘war plans’ were discussed.” She added that no classified material was sent to Signal group chat.
“The White House Counsel’s Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for President Trump’s top officials to communicate as safely and efficiently as possible,” she said.
“At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement, which was sent to ABC News after first being published by The Atlantic.
The scope of the review, including whether it would attempt to determine why high-level discussions about military planning were taking place outside of official channels, was not immediately clear from Hughes’ statement.
Democrats in Congress voiced their concern, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling for an investigation, saying in a statement that the use of a non-classified text app “is completely outrageous and shocks the conscience.”
“If House Republicans are truly serious about keeping America safe, and not simply being sycophants and enablers, they must join Democrats in a swift, serious and substantive investigation into this unacceptable and irresponsible national security breach,” Jeffries said.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed Jeffries’ statement in a floor statement in the Senate on Monday.
“Mr. President, this is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” Schumer said.
The group chat included Vice President JD Vance, according to Goldberg’s reporting, and that it was spun up prior to a U.S. military operation that Trumpordered against the militant Houthis, whom the U.S. says are backed by Iran.
Goldberg told ABC News on Monday he initially thought it might have been a “spoof” or “hoax,” but that “it became sort of overwhelmingly clear to me that this was a real group” once the attack occurred.
Trump, when first asked about the report on Monday, said at the time he didn’t “know anything about it.”
When asked about the story on Monday, Hegseth told reporters that he had “heard how it was characterized.”
He added, “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Luis Martinez, Lauren Peller, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Ten Senate Democrats provided the necessary votes to allow the House-approved government funding bill to advance on Friday afternoon, setting the government funding bill on a glide path to final passage before a deadline at the end of the day Friday.
In a test vote, the Senate voted 62 to 38 to advance the bill — with 60 votes needed to advance it. Democrats voted with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to keep the funding bill moving forward, despite blowback from other members of their party.
While the test vote wasn’t on the final passage of the funding bill, it’s an indicator of how the final vote will go. With the passage of the key procedural hurdle, it’s almost certain to eventually pass.
The vote comes after Schumer took to the Senate floor Friday morning to defend his decision to support the Republican short-term funding bill — a move that has drawn criticism from other Democrats.
His surprise reversal, first announced Thursday evening — a day after he said he and Democrats would try to block the bill — means there will almost certainly be enough Democratic votes to advance the measure to a final Senate vote Friday just hours before the shutdown deadline.
“As everyone knows, government funding expires at midnight tonight. As I announced yesterday, I will vote to keep the government open. I believe it is the best way to minimize the harm that the Trump administration will do to the American people,” Schumer said Friday.
He said he believes the short-term funding bill — or continuing resolution — is a “bad bill” but said he believes if the government were to shut down, it would be a far worse outcome for the country.
“The CR is a bad bill. But as bad as the CR is, I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option,” Schumer said.
Schumer said he believes a government shutdown would mean President Donald Trump and Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would have even more authority to “destroy vital government services at a much faster rate.”
He said they would also have the power to determine which federal employees are considered essential — potentially giving them more power to lay off or fire more government workers and shutter federal agencies.
“A shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive. Let me repeat, a shutdown will allow DOGE to shift into overdrive. It would give Donald Trump and DOGE the keys to the city, state and country,” he said. “Donald Trump and Elon Musk would be free to destroy vital government services at a much faster rate than they can right now and over a much broader field of destruction that they would render.”
He continued, “In a shutdown, Donald Trump and DOGE will have the power to determine what is considered essential and what is not and their views on what is not essential would be mean and vicious and would decimate vital services and cause unimaginable harm to the American people.”
“Musk has told everybody he wants a shutdown because he knows it will help him achieve his horrible goal of just decimating the federal government from one end to the other. In other words, if government were to shut down, DOGE has a plan in place to exploit the crisis for maximum destruction,” Schumer said.
“A shutdown would be the best distraction Donald Trump could ask for,” he added.
Schumer also defended some of his Senate Democratic colleagues who have come out opposed to the short-term funding bill. He acknowledged the tough decisions they as a caucus had to weigh.
“Our caucus members have been torn between two awful alternatives, and my colleagues and I have wrestled with which alternative would be worse for the American people,” Schumer said.
Trump praised Schumer in a post on his social media platform on Friday, saying it took “guts” for the New York senator to signal his support for the GOP bill.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took “guts” and courage! The big Tax Cuts, L.A. fire fix, Debt Ceiling Bill, and so much more, is coming,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights. Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer. This could lead to something big for the USA, a whole new direction and beginning,” Trump wrote.
Two separate letters were sent to Schumer on Friday, urging senators to reject the GOP continuing resolution — one from freshman California Rep. Derek Tran and the second from Ranking Member of House Appropriations Committee Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.
Rep. Tran’s letter, which has 66 signatures so far and is addressed directly to Schumer, states that “as members of the House Democratic Caucus, we write to express our strong opposition to the passage of a partisan continuing resolution that potentially legitimizes President Trump and the Republican party’s dismantling of government.”
“We urge you to reject the partisan continuing resolution coming before the Senate and stand with the American people in opposing these draconian Republican cuts. All parties must come back to the negotiating table and work across party lines to keep the government open in a responsible way,” the lawmakers wrote.
Rep. DeLauro’s letter, which came from Democratic lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee, echoed similar sentiments.
“As members of the House Committee on Appropriations, we urge our Democratic colleagues in the Senate to reject the partisan and harmful continuing resolution that will only serve to enable President Trump, Elon Musk, and the Republican Party’s ongoing efforts to unilaterally and unlawfully destroy the agencies and programs that serve the American people,” the appropriators said.
“We urge all Senate Democrats to stand with House Democrats and with the American people, reject this continuing resolution,” they added.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appeared to be distancing herself from Schumer’s decision, slammed Democrats who support the House GOP bill.
“America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse. Democrats must not buy into this false choice. We must fight back for a better way. Listen to the women, For The People,” she said in a statement Friday.
At the same time, Pelosi applauded House Democrats for their near unanimous vote against the measure.
“I salute Leader Hakeem Jeffries for his courageous rejection of this false choice, and I am proud of my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus for their overwhelming vote against this bill,” she said.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
“A shutdown would be the best distraction Donald Trump could ask for,” he added.
Schumer also defended some his Senate Democratic colleagues who have come out opposed to the short-term funding bill. He acknowledged the tough decisions they as a caucus have had to weigh.
“Our caucus members have been torn between two awful alternatives, and my colleagues and I have wrestled with which alternative would be worse for the American people,” Schumer said.
He added that just because some of his colleagues will vote no on advancing the short-term funding bill, it does not mean they support a government shutdown.
“Different senators come down on different sides of this question. But that does not mean that any Senate Democrat supports a shutdown. Whatever the outcome, our caucus will be united in our determination to continue the long-term fight to stop Donald Trump’s dangerous war on our democracy and on America’s working families,” he said.
About the time Schumer was speaking, Trump praised him in a post on his social media platform, saying it took “guts” for the New York senator to signal his support for the GOP bill.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took “guts” and courage! The big Tax Cuts, L.A. fire fix, Debt Ceiling Bill, and so much more, is coming,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights. Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer. This could lead to something big for the USA, a whole new direction and beginning,” Trump wrote.
On Friday, House Democrats sent a letter to Schumer saying their “strong opposition” to the funding bill.
“The Republican leadership has deliberately cut Democrats out of the process, and we must not give in to Republican hostage-taking of our vulnerable seniors, veterans, and working-class families to advance their destructive funding bill,” the House Democratic Caucus’ letter said.
The letter recommends a 30-day CR as a short-term solution.
“We urge you to reject the partisan continuing resolution coming before the Senate and stand with the American people in opposing these draconian Republican cuts,” the letter said. “All parties must come back to the negotiating table and work across party lines to keep the government open in a responsible way.”
“If Republicans in Congress want to pass this bill, they should do so with their own votes,” the letter said. “However, since they cannot, Republicans must work with Democrats to pass a clean 30-day continuing resolution and continue negotiating full FY25 appropriations.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appeared to be distancing herself from Schumer’s decision, slammed Democrats who support the House GOP bill.
“America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse. Democrats must not buy into this false choice. We must fight back for a better way. Listen to the women, For The People,” she said in a statement Friday.
At the same time, Pelosi applauded House Democrats for their near unanimous vote against the measure.
“I salute Leader Hakeem Jeffries for his courageous rejection of this false choice, and I am proud of my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus for their overwhelming vote against this bill,” she said.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Republicans defended the Trump administration’s sweeping revamp of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) led by Elon Musk. But some lawmakers downplayed the billionaire’s power over the president.
“In terms of any decisions made, those are made by the president or the secretary,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told ABC News on Tuesday. “If Musk wants to make recommendations, wants to go and say, you know, ‘We ought to cancel this, we ought to cancel that,’ that’s fine.”
Hawley dismissed Musk’s framing that he has more authority, calling it “a form of self-promotion” and saying the efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, are more of an audit.
Other lawmakers defended the administration’s decision to gut a congressionally appropriated agency. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said it was a long time coming.
“This idea that people are concerned in these agencies, there’s a lot of great people that work there, but we’ve gone astray, I think a lot of this spending across the world, the American people are tired of it,” he said.
Elon Musk called the USAID “hopeless,” and said he was “in the process” of “shutting [it] down” — which he said President Donald Trump supports.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk wrote on X.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told ABC News’ Rachel Scott on Tuesday, “My message to my Democratic friends and to the tofu-eating ‘wokerati’ at USAID is, ‘I hear your question, but you need to call somebody who cares.”
A week ago, there were lingering questions on Capitol Hill about whether a handful of Republicans would tank the president’s most controversial nominees or if any Republicans would raise concerns about the sweeping changes across federal agencies, but these questions have since quieted.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he doesn’t have any concerns about Musk’s role in the federal government, saying that Musk reminds him of a “strategist.”
“He is throwing out big ideas. And if anybody thinks that all of these big ideas are going to be implemented to conclusion, they don’t understand the process of disruption,” Tillis said. “Everybody is acting like Congress doesn’t exist anymore. Many of the things he’s thinking about will require Congressional approval to actually structurally change them.”
But when asked why the changes wouldn’t then go through Congress, Tillis called that the “old way of doing things.”
“We’ve got oversight. If it goes too far, I’ll be the first person to step up — he went too far.”
Democrats pounced, continuing to sound the alarm and arguing that it’s only a matter of time until congressional Republicans and Musk are at loggerheads.
“There’s going to be a contest here of who’s really in charge,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said. “Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, the idea that you can go back to last year’s appropriations and just shut it down cold, without any recourse, is wrong.”
“Elon Musk’s role is not only unprecedented, it is unconscionable for him to be exercising the kind of influence and power that he is with his conflicts of interest and his financial benefits flowing to him from the kind of destructive impact,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “It’s not disruptive, it is destructive.”
In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor Monday evening, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, called DOGE’s actions “flatly illegal” and raised questions about whether the U.S. truly believes in the rule of law.
“I’ve got agencies I don’t like … agencies that I think are spending too much money or too little money. Do you know what I do about that? I introduce a bill to change that because I believe in the American system of government,” Schatz said.
While speaking on the floor, Schatz got passionate, raising his voice and pounding his fist on the lectern as he expressed frustration about the situation unfolding. He also suggested that the move to unilaterally act without notifying Congress, in violation of congressional appropriation, was unAmerican.
Schatz questioned why assessments of efficacy could not be made while aid work continues.
“People are dying now,” he emphasized, arguing that changes could be made “while you keep the agency open.”
“What they did is they stormed into the offices of a federal building, sent everybody home, broke into the secure conference facilities, broke into the SCIFs, locked people out of their emails. Does that sound like the United States of America” Schatz added, painting a picture of what occurred at the USAID offices over the weekend. “It really honestly does not sound like the United States of America to me. These people were not elected.”
Schatz’s speech came after the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, blocked an effort by Coons that asserted the belief that USAID is “essential for advancing the national security interests of the United States.”
“I’m supportive of the Trump administration’s efforts to reform and restructure the agency in a way that better serves United States national security interests,” Risch said.
In a fiery press conference Monday, Senate Democrats said they were “pulling the fire alarm” to warn about the dangers posed by DOGE and Elon Musk’s access to the Treasury’s payments system.
“Before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government,” Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has terminated Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton, Bolton said in a post on X Tuesday afternoon.
“Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend that protection to me in 2021. The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hit man to target me. That threat remains today,” Bolton wrote. “The American people can judge for themselves which President made the right call.”
The White House has not commented on Bolton’s claims.
Bolton worked as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 and was frequently at odds with the president. After he left office, Bolton was vocal about his criticisms of Trump’s policies, including in a 2020 memoir in which he claimed the president was “stunningly uninformed,” ignorant of basic facts and easily manipulated by foreign adversaries.
At the time of the book’s release, Bolton told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz that Trump was “not fit for office” and didn’t have “the competence to carry out the job.”
Trump has lashed out at Bolton since leaving office in social media posts and interviews.
On Monday, he signed an executive order that called for Bolton to lose any security clearance he might still hold.
The executive order accused Bolton of publishing a memoir that “was rife with sensitive information drawn from his time in government,” with the order adding that the book’s publication “created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed.”
Bolton has denied disclosing any classified information in the book, and though a federal judge was skeptical of that, no charges were ever filed.
