What happened
President Donald Trump downplayed the seriousness of his top national security officials discussing operational details of an imminent military strike on Yemen in a Signal group text chat, calling it a "glitch" that "turned out not to be a serious one." Democrats disagreed and called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down.
Who said what
"I take full responsibility" for building the unsecured group chat that inadvertently included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, Waltz said on Fox News Tuesday night. "It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it." Trump said he would not fire Waltz, calling him "a good man" who "has learned a lesson," and told reporters "there was no classified information, as I understand it."
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe similarly said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that no classified information was shared in the group chat, "bewildering Democrats and former U.S. officials, who regard that kind of targeting information as some of the most closely-held material ahead of a U.S. military campaign," Reuters said. But the intelligence chiefs also "shifted the spotlight back" to Hegseth, who shared the Yemen attack details, saying he "would be the one to determine what defense information is classified."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's "total amateur hour," Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) told podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen. "This is what happens when you have basically Fox News personalities cosplaying as government officials."
What next?
At least four Senate Democrats called for Hegseth to resign and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urged Trump to fire him. Some GOP lawmakers "called for an investigation," The New York Times said, but "most have shied away from criticizing" Trump's team or "calling on any officials to step down."
-
China’s single mothers are teaming upUnder the Radar To cope with money pressures and work commitments, single mums are sharing homes, bills and childcare
-
Employees are branching out rather than moving up with career minimalismThe explainer From career ladder to lily pad
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Are the US boat strikes a war crime?Today’s Big Question Hegseth is defiant after Venezuela reports
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
‘It’s critical that Congress get involved’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
