The White House is standing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Hegseth and Waltz have come under fire after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, was added to a Signal group chat by Waltz that featured top officials in the Trump administration. The Atlantic's story showed Hegseth provided times of warplane launches, strike packages, and targets of Houthi rebels in Yemen.
"We have never denied that this was a mistake," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. "The national security adviser took responsibility for that. And we have said we are making changes."
Leavitt praised Hegseth, saying he is "putting our war fighters first, making the world a safer place for the American people and for all people."
The White House had previously dismissed claims that "war plans" were shared with Goldberg as a hoax.
"The Atlantic has conceded: These were NOT 'war plans,'" Leavitt posted on X. "This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin."
President Donald Trump called the scandal a "witch hunt" Wednesday, defending Hegseth.
"Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this," Trump said. "How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look it's all a witch hunt."
Trump previously said he was still backing Walz, saying he had "learned a lesson."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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