President Donald Trump and senior US intelligence leaders rushed on Tuesday to contain the damage from a severe security breach after a reporter was inadvertently added to a group conversation about airstrikes on Yemen’s Huthi rebels.

Donald Trump played down the episode as a “glitch,” while CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate that no classified material was revealed in the Signal messaging app chat.

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Journalist Accidentally Added to Signal Chat

The scandal broke out when Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to the chat by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz before the airstrikes.

Donald Trump came to Waltz’s defense, saying to NBC, “The only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one. Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.”

Senate Hearing Intensifies Scrutiny

In a heated Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Gabbard and Ratcliffe were intensely grilled on the breach.

“There was no classified material that was shared,” said Gabbard. She would not respond as to whether Signal had been placed on her private phone.

Ratcliffe did admit he took part in the chat and agreed that Signal was on his work computer but underscored the conversation was “entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.”

Democrats Call for Resignations

Democrats on the committee criticized the administration’s response to the incident, calling for Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign.

Senator Mark Warner decried the incident, referring to it as “sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior.”

Goldberg said Hegseth had discussed details of the airstrikes, including targets, weapons, and timing, before the March 15 operation.

White House Denies War Plans Were Leaked

Hegseth, a previous Fox News anchor who had never managed a large bureaucracy like the Pentagon, refused to admit that sensitive military information had been shared.

“No one was texting war plans,” he insisted.

The White House mounted an aggressive defense, calling the scandal a “coordinated effort” to take attention away from Trump’s successes.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called on supporters on X, “Don’t let enemies of America get away with these lies,” labeling the controversy a “witch hunt.”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed that “no ‘war plans’ were discussed” and accused Goldberg of “sensationalist spin.”

Concerns Over Signal App Usage

The leak has prompted serious questions regarding the use of a commercial messaging application for high-level government conversations. Security experts caution that the platforms could be susceptible to being hacked by US rivals.

To add fuel to the fire, CBS News quoted that Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was in Moscow, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he was invited into the Signal chat.

Allegations of European Free-Loading

The leaked chat also included derogatory remarks made about US allies.

One user going by the name of Vance complained about the airstrikes, telling him he loathed “bailing Europe out again,” as Huthi attacks on shipping directly affected Europe more than the US.

Hegseth and Waltz stood up for the US response, suggesting that only Washington had the ability to conduct the strikes. Hegseth was said to have concurred with Vance’s “loathing of European free-loading,” labeling European allies as “pathetic.”

Huthi Rebels and Regional Tensions

The Iran-aligned Huthi rebels, who have been ruling most of Yemen for more than a decade, oppose Israel and the US strongly. They have launched many drone and missile attacks on Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ships, invoking solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The increasing tensions clearly point to the intricacies of the geopolitical context. Moreover, the most recent violation further adds a layer of scandal to the US administration’s response to national security. As a result, with increasing outrage, Trump and his party are keen to engage in damage control, actively mounting their defense and consistently characterizing criticisms as politically inspired attacks.