There was "no classified material" sent to a leaked group chat among senior Trump administration officials discussing forthcoming strikes on Houthi targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
She also said that "no 'war plans' were discussed" in a Tuesday morning post on X.
The press secretary was responding to a report by The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, whose number was mistakenly added to the administration's group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal.
Also on the group chat were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and national security adviser Mike Waltz—who added Goldberg's number—among others.
Why It Matters
According to Goldberg, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted in the chat "operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing."
The story raises questions about the security of government communications at the highest level, and the risks of sensitive information leaking out through the use of certain apps or because of inadequate processes for ensuring mistakes like this don't happen.
What To Know
"The White House Counsel's Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for President Trump's top officials to communicate as safely and efficiently as possible," Leavitt wrote.
"As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg's number was inadvertently added to the thread.
"Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that's what matters most to President Trump."
The messages reportedly contained criticism of European allies by members of the administration, who were frustrated by the U.S. taking action to reopen shipping lanes closed by Houthi attacks that would benefit Europe most of all.
"If you think we should do it let's go. I just hate bailing Europe out again," said a message from Vance.
Hegseth replied: "VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It's PATHETIC. But Mike [Waltz] is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this."
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security, who was also in the group chat, asked how the U.S. could extract repayment from Europe and Egypt for the strikes.
Miller said that "we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return."
"We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement. EG, if Europe doesn't remunerate, then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return," Miller wrote.
What People Are Saying
European Union (EU) officials are due in Washington on Tuesday to discuss trade as the two sides exchange tariffs in an escalating battle. The leaked messages are another reminder of a waning trans-Atlantic relationship.
"Once, America saw the world trade system or containing Iran as vital to the prosperity and security of the free world and worth defending," an unnamed EU official told The Times of London. "Now, for Trump, his foreign and military mercenary operation appears to be a machine to extract imperial revenues from anyone who uses the global trade system."
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta called it: "A very serious mistake" that "could violate the espionage laws, but more importantly, could undermine our national security."
What Happens Next
There may be legal fallout from the information leak and the report is sending reverberations around Washington and the world.
The British government has already responded to questions about the security of its intelligence shared with the U.S. Other Western allies will face similar questions—as will European officials over the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship.
For now, Waltz is safe in his job, President Donald Trump has confirmed.
