Top Trump administration officials, including US defense secretary Pete Hegseth and vice president JD Vance, allegedly discussed details of a military operation to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen in a group chat. The chat mistakenly included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who wrote about it on Monday.
Goldberg published an article explaining that he was added to an 18-person chat on the encrypted app Signal. The account that added him used the name of White House national security adviser (NSA) Mike Waltz. Later, an account named “Pete Hegseth” shared details about planned strikes in Yemen, including information on “weapons packages, targets, and timing” shortly before the attack.
Also read: Trump officials ‘accidentally’ sent Yemen war plans to journalist – What was in the texts
‘We are making a mistake’
The group chat, named ‘Houthi PC small group,’ involved discussions about the military operation. NSA Mike Waltz was leading the response to Houthi actions.
However, vice president JD Vance disagreed with US President Trump in the chat. He called the operation in Yemen “a mistake.” He said, “I think we are making a mistake.” This is the first reported instance of Vance opposing Trump and other officials.
According to The Atlantic, the Vance account also said: “3 per cent of US trade runs through the Suez. 40 per cent of European trade does. 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.”
The account continued, saying, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. 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.”
Vance sent this message on March 14, one day before Trump announced that he had authorized airstrikes on the Houthis. The militant group, backed by Iran, has targeted shipping in the Red Sea for two years. Two days before the message, Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, and the European Union responded with retaliatory measures.
About 30 minutes after his message, Vance told Hegseth: “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.” The administration has argued that US naval operations benefit European allies by protecting shipping lanes.
On the morning of March 15, Hegseth in the group chat detailed the forthcoming strikes, which Trump announced on Truth Social about three hours later.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance replied.
Who was in the group?
According to Goldberg’s article, the chat included a total of 18 people, including those who appeared to be vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, treasury secretary Scott Bessent and CIA director John Ratcliffe.
Who are Houthis?
The Houthis are an Iranian-backed rebel group in Yemen that has attacked commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for more than a year, threatening maritime trade. The Houthis have used the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas to justify the attacks.
