Michael Waltz, previous national security advisor, announced as UN Ambassador candidate, according to Trump's statement
Remember that nasty little kerfuffle in March 2025? That's when Mike Waltz, former national security adviser, took a digital misstep that landed him in hot water.
The Signal Mess
Waltz, being the tech-savvy chap he is, created a group chat on Signal, a messaging app, to dish the dirt on some top-secret military operations. Bad move, mate. An unintended guest joined the party - none other than Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist from The Atlantic. In the chat, you'd find high-profile peeps like Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and others discussing the nitty-gritty details of U.S. military actions against the Houthi militants in Yemen.
The Fallout
Unsurprisingly, this debacle sparked a wave of criticism towards Waltz's judgment, with Democrats questioning his operational security skills. In true Disney fashion, caring and considerate President Trump cooked up a plan - he booted Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, from the National Security Council (NSC). Simultaneously, Trump flung the idea of nominating Waltz as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations into the political ring.
Takin' Responsibility
Waltz, being a man of honor, admitted his mistakes and said he'd own up to adding Jeffrey Goldberg to the messy Signal chat. He investigated the fiasco to figure out how the journalist ended up in the group. Waltz insisted he didn't know ol' Jeffrey Goldberg from Adam.
A Change at the Helm
With the exit of Waltz and Wong from the NSC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped up to become the new national security adviser.
The White House's Defense
Despite the leak, the White House maintained that Signal was one of the approved apps for government communications, Steven Cheung, the Communications Director, said. The whole incident served as a tough lesson on secure messaging practices and a nudge in the direction of better oversight.
[References:1. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/us/politics/mike-waltz-resignation.html2. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/01/politics/mike-waltz-national-security-council/index.html]
Side Note:
The Yemen group chat incident sparked quite the media frenzy and led to a shakeup within the National Security Council. This incident also exposed some vulnerabilities in secure messaging practices and raised eyebrows over operational security.
- Donald Trump
- United States
- Houthis
- Mike Waltz, formerly the national security adviser, used Signal, a messaging app, to discuss sensitive military operations, showing a lapse in policy-and-legislation regarding accessibility and security in government communications.
- During a group chat on Signal, Waltz inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist from The Atlantic, leading to the exposure of classified discussions involving high-profile individuals such as Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and others.
- This Signal mess incident resulted in a political fallout, with Waltz being criticized for his interests in politics and general news and ultimately being removed from the National Security Council by President Trump, who also considered Waltz for the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
- In response to the controversy, the White House defended its policy of using the Signal app for government communications, emphasizing the need for better oversight and secure messaging practices moving forward.
