National Adviser Mike Waltz Says He Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ for Signal Chat Leak

Waltz said he did not know how the journalist’s number ended up on his phone, adding that the Trump administration is investigating how it happened. 

National security advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump and U.S. Ambassadors in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 25, 2025. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

National security adviser Mike Waltz said Tuesday that he takes “full responsibility” for the leaked Signal group chat in which officials allegedly discussed plans to strike Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

“A staffer wasn’t responsible,” Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. “I take full responsibility. I built the group. My job is to make sure everything’s coordinated.”

This comes after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote on March 24 that he was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat in which several top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed the renewed campaign of U.S. airstrikes against the Houthi terrorists.

When asked how Goldberg’s contact number was added to the group chat on the encrypted messaging app, Waltz said that there may have been a mix-up in contact information.

“Have you ever had somebody’s contact that shows their name, and then you have somebody else’s number there?” Waltz said.

“It looked like someone else. Now, whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean is something we’re trying to figure out,” he added.

Waltz denied knowing Goldberg personally, saying that he had never met the journalist. However, the adviser said he knew some of The Atlantic’s reporting on President Donald Trump.

“I can tell you 100 percent I don’t know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation,” he said. “And I know him in the sense that he hates the president, but I don’t text him.”

Waltz said he did not know how Goldberg’s number ended up on his phone and that the administration was investigating how it happened.

Goldberg claimed in his report that the message chain on Signal “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.”

However, Waltz clarified that no classified information was shared in the chat.

Hegseth has also denied reports that he had discussed classified military operation plans with other administration officials through the Signal app.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Hegseth said that “nobody was texting war plans” and criticized Goldberg for previous reporting about Trump’s first term.

Goldberg responded to Hegseth’s statement during an MSNBC interview on Monday, saying that he was describing what he saw in the group chat and disputed Hegseth’s statement.

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), “John Ratcliffe,” and “MAR” (which Goldberg noted are the initials of Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio).

Several House Democrats have called for Waltz and other administration officials to be fired over the incident. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) said that officials responsible for the “outrageous national security breach” should be held accountable and called for a full investigation.

Trump defended the national security adviser during an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, saying that Waltz “has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.”

The president said that his team’s chat incident was “the only glitch in two months,” which he considers not a serious issue.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday echoed Hegseth’s statement that no plans for war were sent in the chat. She said that no classified material was disclosed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday ruled out any disciplinary action against Waltz over the incident. When asked if Waltz and Hegseth should face any punishment, Johnson replied, “Of course not.”

“Apparently, an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re going to track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again,” he told reporters.

Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.