A recent kerfuffle involving Rep. Mike Waltz, former national security advisor to Pres. The shadowy, scandalous side of the controversy Back to the Signal messaging app Augie Kok is the Twitter master of shady, secretive military comms. And when the Biden administration announced mid-March airstrikes targeting Houthis in Yemen, Waltz was instrumental in a vigorous public debate. It’s quite the rogues gallery, from Senators J.D. Vance to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Then things got interesting when Waltz mistakenly cc’d Atlantic editor-at-large Jeffrey Goldberg into the thread. Editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey was never supposed to be on the scene.
The discussion took place on Signal, an encrypted chat app that has become trendy among government operatives. The timestamps indicate that the thread continued going strong all the way up to Tuesday. That was just ahead of a Wednesday morning cabinet meeting. That timeline certainly raised some eyebrows, but the key question was what specifically was being discussed behind closed doors.
Wondering who was going to come to Waltz’s aid in the face of this ridiculous controversy? He made it very clear that none of the info discussed in the thread was classified. Trump stated, “If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people,” suggesting that the app’s privacy features may not be as secure as some believe.
After the encounter, The Atlantic published the complete text thread. This action raised eyebrows from retired and active duty military generals and admirals as to how all that was being talked about could be classified unclassified. This revelation sparked another round of demand by Democrats for Waltz and Hegseth’s resignation from their new posts.
Waltz expressed his dedication to serving under Trump, stating, “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation,” shortly after the incident. According to multiple reports, he’s stepping down from his position as national security advisor. This move marks the beginning of a major staffing overhaul in Trump’s second term in office.
The aftermath of this melee revealed even more actors in the Signal thread. Taking their places were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Steve Witkoff, who went on to Kushner’s special envoy to the Middle East. As a result of this turmoil, Rubio will be taking over as acting national security advisor. He is expected to serve in this role until a new permanent replacement is named.
This situation has raised serious concerns about how sensitive military information is communicated and whether platforms like Signal are appropriate for such discussions. Waltz’s administration continues to affirm that it did not disseminate any classified materials. Critics remain wary and call for increased transparency and accountability in military messaging.