The editor in chief of the Atlantic magazine was included on a messaging chain in which senior members of the Trump administration — including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz — discussed strikes against the Houthi terror group in Yemen earlier this month, in a stunning breach of national security.
Jeffrey Goldberg revealed the jaw-dropping mishap Monday in an article headlined “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.” In the story, Goldberg claimed he connected with Waltz on Signal on March 11 and was invited to join a chain called the “Houthi PC small group” two days later.
The bombs fell across the Middle Eastern country on March 15, with the Trump administration claiming to have “taken out” multiple leaders of the Iran-backed Houthis.
Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that the Trump national security team included him on messages discussing strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Getty Images for The Atlantic
“These were not kind of pinprick, back and forth — what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks,” Waltz told ABC’s “This Week” the following day. “This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out, and the difference here is: one, going after the Houthi leadership, and two, holding Iran responsible.”
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told The Post that the Signal chain that included Goldberg “appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.
“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials,” Hughes added. “The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”
Other top administration officials on the Signal chat included someone identified only as “MAR,” the same initials as Secretary of State Marco Rubio; CIA director John Ratcliffe; special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; White House chief of staff Susie Wiles; someone named “S M,” thought to be deputy White House chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller; and someone named “TG,” which Goldberg believed to be Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
President Trump watches as the military carries out strikes in Yemen. The White House / X
Goldberg claimed that he was signed into the chat with just his initials “JG,” suggesting Waltz or a subordinate had mistaken his Signal info for that of Jamieson Greer — the US Trade Representative who often attends National Security Council meetings.
Initially, when Goldberg received a connection request from Waltz, he was skeptical that it was from President Trump’s actual national security adviser and suspected it may have been someone “masquerading” as him.
But then on March 13, Waltz instructed participants on the “Houthi PC small group” to provide the best point of contact from their team to help with correspondence over that coming weekend.
“Team, you should have a statement of conclusions with taskings per the Presidents [sic] guidance this morning in your high side inboxes,” Waltz texted the group at 8:05 a.m. March 14, using the term “high side” to refer to classified computer systems.
This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025. AP
“State and DOD [Defense Department], we developed suggested notification lists for regional Allies and partners. Joint Staff is sending this am a more specific sequence of events in the coming days and we will work w DOD to ensure COS [Chief of Staff], OVP [Office of the Vice President] and POTUS are briefed.”
Vance, who was traveling to Michigan for an economy-focused event, told the group that “I think we are making a mistake” with the strikes.
“[Three] percent of US trade runs through the [Suez Canal]. 40 percent of European trade does,” said the veep. “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance went on. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
via REUTERS
Another user named Joe Kent, the same moniker as Trump’s pick to run the National Counterterrorism Center, argued that “There is nothing time sensitive driving the time line” and stressed, “We’ll have the exact same options in a month.”
Hegseth replied to Vance that ” I understand your concerns” and argued that “messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.” The Pentagon boss argued in favor of following through on an attack, stressing the importance of not looking indecisive.
“Whether it’s now or several weeks from now,” Waltz chimed in, “it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.”
Vance then seemingly backed down, telling Hegseth, “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
“VP,” Hegseth answered, “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”
At that point, the account believed to be Stephen Miller chimed in and said: “As I heard it, the president was clear: green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return.”
The following day, on March 15, Hegseth gave an update to the team at 11:44 a.m. with operational details about the strikes on Yemen, which were reported by news outlets a couple of hours later. Goldberg did not divulge the specific message due to concerns about jeopardizing US military and intelligence capabilities.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance replied in the group.
Goldberg later removed himself from the group chat and reached out to officials including Waltz, Hegseth, and Gabbard and others about the lapse.
A spokesperson for Vance later downplayed the appearance of daylight between the veep and Trump over the attack.
A building is reduced to rubble after US strieks against Houthi targets in Yemen. Getty Images
“The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations,” spokesperson William Martin told The Atlantic. “Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
Goldberg’s inclusion in the group chat was stunning for a number of reasons — including the fact that he authored a disputed 2020 article accusing Trump of disparaging US troops buried in France as “suckers” and “losers.”
Trump vehemently denied saying so, but the allegation was cited as fact by Democrats, including regularly by former President Joe Biden — even after the lede of Goldberg’s piece was debunked by a Freedom of Information Act release.
The author claimed that Trump falsely “blamed rain for the last-minute decision” to cancel a cemetery visit near Paris in 2018 “saying that ‘the helicopter couldn’t fly’ and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.”
Navy records showed that military personnel made a “bad weather call” that canceled the helicopter flight, which typically happens when low cloud cover makes it unsafe to land.
Goldberg never corrected his story.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon referred The Post to Hughes’ statement. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
