Hegseth Says ‘Nobody Was Texting War Plans’ in Alleged Group Chat Leak

The defense secretary addressed a report by The Atlantic’s chief editor, who said he was mistakenly added to a group chat on U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.

Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied reports on Monday that he had discussed classified military operation plans with Trump administration officials through text messages on a Signal group chat that unintentionally included a journalist.

“I’ve heard that was characterized, nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth told reporters after landing in Hawaii.

Hegseth was responding to questions about a report published Monday by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who alleged that he had been accidentally added to a group chat with several top U.S. officials discussing the renewed campaign of U.S. airstrikes against Houthi terrorists in Yemen last week.

When first asked whether the leaked information was classified, Hegseth dismissed the question. He then questioned Goldberg’s credibility and criticized his work as a journalist and some of The Atlantic’s reporting on President Donald Trump’s first term.

Hegseth then said the U.S. military operation against the Yemeni terrorist group will reestablish deterrence and “ultimately decimate the Houthis.”

In his report, Goldberg alleged that he was added to the group chat on March 15 by someone he believes to be White House national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Other alleged members in the group chat included “JD Vance,” “TG” (who Goldberg believes was Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard), “Scott B” (possibly Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent), “Pete Hegseth,” “John Ratcliffe,” and “MAR” (which Goldberg noted are the initials of Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio).

White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Brian Hughes said the group chat “appears to be authentic” and that the NSC is “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 told The Epoch Times.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said he had no knowledge of the episode.

“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. It’s, to me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business,” Trump said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the Trump administration maintains its “utmost confidence” in the national security team, including Waltz, despite the alleged incident.

In a Senate floor speech, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the encrypted messaging app Signal is an unsecured app and is not approved for sensitive military operations like those Goldberg allegedly had seen.

“This debacle requires a full investigation into how this happened, the damage it created, and how we can avoid it in the future, if our nation’s military secrets are being held around over unsecured text chains,” he said.

Schumer said that if rank-and-file government employees or military personnel had shared information in this manner, they could face investigations and severe consequences.

Ryan Morgan and Emel Akan contributed to this report.