Trump Privately Unloads on Mike Waltz Over War Plans Group Chat

Donald Trump is still publicly backing his national security adviser—but behind the scenes, the president is reportedly “mad” and “suspicious” of Mike Waltz’s contact list, which, as his allies learned Monday, includes The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.

The Trump administration has reiterated its confidence in Waltz, who earlier this month seemingly accidentally invited Goldberg to participate in a Signal group chat where top administration officials discussed imminent attacks on Houthi targets on Yemen.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president has “the utmost confidence” in Waltz, while White House communications director Steven Cheung argued online that the Atlantic story had been blown out of proportion and wasn’t what former U.S. officials have described as “the highest level of fuckup imaginable.”

But three unidentified sources familiar with the situation told Politico that Trump was more than upset about the whole situation behind closed doors, though his frustration had been dampened by the success of the mission itself.

“The president was pissed that Waltz could be so stupid,” one person told the publication.

The report was soon followed by a damning revelation regarding Waltz’s behavior: Wired reported Wednesday evening that an account sharing the intelligence official’s name had left his Venmo profile public. In doing so, Waltz had disclosed the names of hundreds of his personal and professional associates, including government officials and lobbyists.

Waltz’s Venmo friends list also included a slew of media personalities, including Bret Baier and Brian Kilmeade of Fox News, Brianna Keilar and Kristen Holmes of CNN, a cable news producer, local news journalists, a national security reporter, documentarians, and “noted conspiracy theorist Ivan Raiklin,” per Wired.

As the week wears on and Waltz’s scandals pile up, the national security adviser’s behavior appears to suggest a pattern of haphazard thoughtlessness rather than isolated mistakes, for what should be one of America’s foremost security experts.

On Wednesday, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that several senior administration officials had their personal data—including account passwords, cell phone numbers, and email addresses—listed online.

Some of the compromised Cabinet members include Waltz, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The foreign publication was able to track down their information via commercial search engines as well as databases composed of hacked customer data.

“Most of these numbers and email addresses are apparently still in use,” reported Der Spiegel.

Through those details, reporters were further able to uncover Dropbox accounts and personal profiles on running apps that track users’ health data. Reporters were also able to locate WhatsApp and, ultimately, Signal accounts for some members of the administration.

Even the chief national security correspondent at Fox News is calling bullshit on the Trump administration’s Signalgate story.

Trump and co. are sticking to the story that the Signal chat that The Atlantic editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to did not contain any classified information, even though the messages contained precise timing about plans to bomb Yemen. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and press secretary Karoline Leavitt have been steadfast in this.

Fox’s Jennifer Griffin thinks they’re lying.

“There is a debate about whether the operational details Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared in the Signal Group Chat were ‘classified’or not. So I surveyed a range of current and former US defense officials who agreed ‘war plans’ is not the right term but what was shared may have been FAR MORE sensitive given the operational details and time stamps ahead of the operation, which could have placed US military pilots in harms way,” Griffin wrote.

“What Hegseth shared two hours ahead of the strikes were time-sensitive ‘attack orders’ or ‘operational plans’ with actual timing of the strikes and mention of F18s, MQ9 Reapers and Tomahawks. This information is typically sent through classified channels to the commanders in the field as ‘secret, no [form] message. In other words the information is ‘classified’ and should not be shared through insecure channels.”

Griffin continued. “This kind of real time operational information is more sensitive than ‘war plans,’ which makes this lapse more egregious, according to two former senior US defense officials. ‘This information was clearly classified,’ according to former senior defense official #1. The Defense Secretary can retroactively declassify information after the fact, but the fact that this was shared in real time before the strike took place makes it unlikely to have been declassified when it was being shared and seen by the journalist for The Atlantic who was inadvertently included in the Signal chat.”

It says a lot when the administration’s own media wing is starting to get tired of its gaffes.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Wednesday visited the mega-prison in El Salvador where U.S. deportees are being held—and decided to post a propaganda video to push the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Noem visited the Terrorism Confinement Center in the country Wednesday, posting a garish video of herself speaking in front of crowded prison cells full of partially clothed, tattooed detainees on X and bragging about the administration’s policy of deporting immigrants to El Salvador, at times without even due process.

“I also want everybody to know that if you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences that you could face,” Noem said. “First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed and you will be prosecuted. But know that this facility is one of the tools in our tool kit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.”

The video sparked immediate criticism on social media, with commentators remarking on everything from how dystopian it looked to the clear constitutional violations of deporting people from the United States to a foreign country without due process.

Many of the people the administration has deported are civilians accused of being hardened criminals or gang members, sometimes on the flimsy basis of being Latinos with tattoos. In one case, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker was deported to El Salvador because he had a tattoo inspired by the soccer club Real Madrid and had made hand gestures in social media posts.

Meanwhile, El Salvador is run by autocrat Nayib Bukele, who has been accused of severe human rights violations and has thumbed his nose at U.S. court rulings. Still, the Trump administration made a deal with him to aid in mass deportations, and now El Salvador is helping administration officials make attention-seeking propaganda videos.

The Department of Health and Human Services will be firing 10,000 employees—nearly a quarter of the workforce.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is cutting employees in the disease outbreak, drug approval, and insurance departments. These firings, combined with the 10,000 employees who’ve already quit, leaves the critical public health department with just 62,000 employees. The department will also lose half of its regional offices.

“We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said.

According to the Journal, the cuts will include:

- 3,500 full-time employees from the Food and Drug Administration—or about 19% of the agency’s workforce.

- 2,400 employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—or about 18% of its workforce.

- 1,200 employees from the National Institutes of Health—or about 6% of its workforce

- 300 employees from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—or about 4% of its workforce.

HHS has been a target for Elon Musk and DOGE since Trump reentered the Oval Office, and has received much ire from the right for its Covid-19 policies.

This story has been updated.

Elon Musk is so desperate to get Wisconsin voters to sign his petition condemning so-called “activist” judges, he’s paying them a million dollars—but there’s reason to doubt the giveaway is even real.

Musk’s America PAC announced the first so-called “winner” of his million-dollar giveaway on Wednesday, in the latest attempt from the oligarch to interfere with the democratic process.

“Scott A. From Green Bay, WI is the first $1 Million spokesperson for signing our Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges. Stay tuned between now and April 1st for more surprise announcements from Wisconsin,” a post on X reads.

The petition asked voters to reject “the actions of activist judges who impose their own views” and demand “a judiciary that respects its role—interpreting, not legislating.”

Musk previously held a $1 million sweepstakes in several swing states, including Wisconsin, ahead of the presidential election. He invited voters to sign a petition endorsing the constitutional right to free speech and to bear arms—potentially collecting data on millions of voters.

Philadelphia’s District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk to prevent him from continuing his grift, but a judge said he failed to prove Musk was holding an illegal lottery because Krasner could provide no evidence beyond “speculation.” When Krasner petitioned the court, his bid was denied by the judge because there was only one sweepstakes remaining. Well, it seems like there will be a lot more, as Musk continues efforts to buy the nation’s courts after purchasing the presidency.

Crucially, it’s unlikely that there was any “winner” to Musk’s game. In November, America PAC lawyers revealed in court that the so-called winners were paid spokespeople for the PAC, not victors in a game of chance. It seems implausible that this time would be any different—especially when they got away with it so easily before.

Musk has been offering $100 to anyone who completes his petition in Wisconsin ahead of the state Supreme Court race on April 1. Musk has also put at least $20 million behind conservative candidate Brad Schimel.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is set to weigh questions on hot-button issues, including the use of voter drop boxes in elections, abortion access, and redrawing congressional maps. A Republican majority on the court could influence the outcome in any of these cases, which would have national repercussions. Musk is also waging his own legal battle in the state, after he sued Wisconsin for not allowing Tesla dealerships there.

The American public knew before Donald Trump that top administration officials had conducted airstrikes on Yemen via a Signal chat, and now it appears that the president has been left in the dark on other intelligence matters too.

At an Oval Office news briefing Wednesday evening, Trump casually admitted that he was not aware that several U.S. army members had gone missing during a training exercise in Lithuania.

“Have you been briefed about the soldiers in Lithuania who are missing?” a reporter asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Trump said.

Earlier that day, the U.S. Army released a statement that four soldiers had disappeared on training grounds in a swamp near Pabradė, along the border with Belarus. The soldiers were conducting “scheduled tactical training” at the time of their disappearance, according to the Army. The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle they had been using was discovered 16 feet underground a day after the soldiers went missing, reported NBC News.

But the armymen were known to be missing as early as Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., the Lithuanian military said, so why Trump was still unaware of the situation more than 24 hours later is unclear.

Search efforts are “underway,” the Army said in their statement, specifying that the operation has been a joint effort between U.S. military officials, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian law enforcement, the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department, and other groups. Helicopters operated by Lithuanian Air Forces and the State Border Guard began a search and rescue mission on Tuesday, according to the country’s military press office.

“I would like to personally thank the Lithuanian Armed Forces and first responders who quickly came to our aid in our search operations,” said Lieutenant General Charles Costanza, the V Corps commanding general. “It’s this kind of teamwork and support that exemplifies the importance of our partnership and our humanity regardless of what flags we wear on our shoulders.”

The lapse in Trump’s knowledge begs the question, however, as to just how much intel the president has been left out of within the folds of his own administration.

During another White House press briefing on Monday, Trump fumbled by admitting that he was not only not invited to his Cabinet’s Signal exchange, in which his top officials discussed when, how, and where they would bomb Houthi targets in Yemen, but that he actually had no idea it had happened.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said at the time, noting that a reporter’s question regarding the group chat was the first he had heard of it. “But I know nothing about it, you’re saying that they had what?”

President Trump had a late-night meltdown on Truth Social about his least favorite federal judge being assigned to the Signalgate lawsuit.

“How disgraceful is it that ‘Judge’ James Boasberg has just been given a fourth ‘Trump Case,’ something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE. There is no way for a Republican, especially a TRUMP REPUBLICAN, to win before him. He is Highly Conflicted, not only in his hatred of me—Massive Trump Derangement Syndrome!— but also, because of disqualifying family conflicts,” Trump wrote past one o’clock in the morning on Thursday.

“Boasberg, who is the Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court, seems to be grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself, even though it is not supposed to happen that way,” he continued. “Is there still such a thing as the ‘wheel,’ where the Judges are chosen fairly, and at random? The good news is that it probably doesn’t matter, because it is virtually impossible for me to get an Honest Ruling in D.C. Our Nation’s Courts are broken, with New York and D.C. being the most preeminent of all in their Corruption and Radicalism. There must be an immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late!”

Trump officials were sued Tuesday by the government watchdog American Oversight after news broke that The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a Signal group chat in which multiple Cabinet members and Vice President JD Vance were discussing an attack on the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The administration has denied that anything classified was covered, and Trump himself blamed it on someone who worked at a “lower level.” Now Boasberg will be the judge.

Boasberg’s Signalgate assignment comes after he already ruled against the Trump administration’s extrajudicial deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan men with no proven ties to Tren de Agua—the gang that Trump swears they’re all from—to El Salvador.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President—He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” Trump wrote of Boasberg on Truth Social on March 18. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Kari Lake, the failed Arizona politician and current special adviser to the president at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, has withdrawn the termination of a federal grant to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, one of the agency’s media properties, to end a legal fight. 

Lake gave notice in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Wednesday that the grant termination was being withdrawn, and also sent a letter to RFE/RL’s president, Stephen Capus, notifying the organization that the grant agreement was restored. But the letter added a caveat: The grant was restored “without prejudice,” meaning that Lake and the Trump administration can still terminate the grants at a later date if they so choose.

Lake officially serves as a special adviser to the president in charge of the agency while she awaits Senate confirmation to take over as director of Voice of America, also part of the USAGM.  Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order gutting USAGM, resulting in all VOA employees being fired and other outlets, such as RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, operating with minimal resources while they challenged the order in court. 

Now it seems that at least RFE/RL has some temporary relief to be able to serve its mission of reporting in 27 languages to 23 countries around the world, many of which don’t have a functioning free press. But the USAGM’s other media outlets aren’t so fortunate, and for now are still at the mercy of a Trump appointee known for peddling election lies and even lying about the agency she’s now trying to run.

It’s a good thing that the second lady’s trip to Greenland was canceled, because apparently nobody wanted her there.

U.S. representatives were reportedly seen knocking door-to-door in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, to ascertain just how Vance’s visit to the Nordic island would be received. The answer? Not well.

“The Americans’ charm offensive mission has failed,” reported TV 2 correspondent Jesper Steinmetz, adding that locals have completely cold-shouldered the Vance family’s prospective visit.

American representatives were seen walking around the city, canvassing residents to see if people would be interested in a visit from the vice president’s wife.

“They’ve gotten no, no, no, no, no, every single time,” Steinmetz said.

Usha Vance was reportedly scheduled to attend a dogsled race in the foreign country, sharing in a video statement on Instagram that she was “reading all about it with my children” and was looking “forward to meeting” the island’s residents.

“I’m also coming to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations and to express hope that our relationship will only grow stronger in the coming years,” the second lady said. “See you soon!”

The Vance family’s travel plans to Greenland were, however, dropped. Instead, they will visit a U.S. space base on the island’s northwest coast later this week.

“This is categorically false,” a senior White House official told The New Republic, though they did not specify what part of the report they objected to. “The Second Lady is proud to visit the Pituffik Space Base with her husband to learn more about arctic security and the great work of the Space Base.”

Greenland’s government said in a statement posted on Facebook Monday that it had “not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official.”

The self-governing Danish territory has not taken kindly to what its officials have described as Donald Trump’s repeated “aggression” against Greenland’s sovereignty. Over the last several months, the U.S. president has made odd jokes and eyebrow-raising militaristic threats about buying and annexing Greenland and shipped his son and MAGA allies to the island for a slapdash photo op with the island’s homeless.

Republicans at home have also incensed the other side of the long-standing international relationship. Last month, Georgia Representative Buddy Carter pitched that Greenland should be renamed “Red, White, and Blueland” while handing Trump free license to pursue Greenland under the belief that the territory is suddenly a national security priority.

A late January poll by pollster Verian found that 85 percent of Greenland’s residents do not want to become part of the United States. Just 6 percent were in favor of the switch, while 8 percent were undecided, according to The Guardian.

This story has been updated.

If Mike Waltz knows anything about national security, he sure isn’t acting like it.

As it turns out, adding a journalist to a Signal channel in which top Trump administration officials discussed imminent airstrikes in Yemen isn’t the only security breach that’s occurred under Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

The German newspaper Der Spiegel reported Wednesday that several senior administration officials had their personal data—including account passwords, cell phone numbers, and email addresses—listed online.

Some of the compromised Cabinet members include Waltz, as well as National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The foreign publication was able to track down their information via commercial search engines as well as databases composed of hacked customer data.

“Most of these numbers and email addresses are apparently still in use,” reported Der Spiegel.

Through those details, reporters were further able to uncover Dropbox accounts and personal profiles on running apps that track users’ health data. Reporters were also able to locate WhatsApp and, ultimately, Signal accounts for some members of the administration.

“Hostile intelligence services could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected by installing spyware on their devices,” the weekly news journal reported. “It is thus conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group in which Gabbard, Waltz, and Hegseth discussed a military strike.”

Former intelligence officials are warning that America’s adversaries “undoubtedly” already have the chat records. That’s thanks to the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who was physically in Russia when he was added to the chat on the retail app. In an interview with MeidasTouch Tuesday, former national security adviser Susan Rice said that Witkoff’s use of Signal while in Russia would have basically hand-delivered news of the attack to the Kremlin hours before it took place.

“Russians have whatever Witkoff was doing or saying on his personal cell phone,” Rice told the network.

But Witkoff wasn’t the only group chat member traveling abroad at the time. During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday, Gabbard admitted that she had been in the Indo-Pacific at the time that the strike was being coordinated over Signal, though despite her sudden recollection, she could not remember which country specifically she had been in before Yemen was hit.

She was reportedly in transit from Thailand to India on March 15, the day of the strike. Days later, Gabbard delivered a keynote address at the Raisina Dialogue, according to a readout from her office.