Trump Admin Moving On From ‘Signalgate,’ Won’t Fire Waltz
The Trump administration has officially closed its review of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz’s involvement in a group chat regarding airstrikes in Yemen, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday. She emphasized that with upcoming tariffs taking center stage, the issue has largely faded from focus.
The situation first came to light when The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg—well-known for his critical stance on Trump—revealed that he had been included in the encrypted Signal app conversation earlier this month. This disclosure contradicted Waltz’s assertion that there was no prior connection between them, as reported by the New York Post.
“As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team. And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned,” Leavitt stated to reporters outside the White House on Monday.
She added, per The Post, “There have been steps made to make sure that something like that can obviously never happen again and we are moving forward. The president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well if you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team.”
Previously, Leavitt had indicated that the National Security Council, the White House counsel’s office, and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk were investigating the incident. This followed Waltz’s claim that Goldberg’s number had been inexplicably “sucked into” his phone. However, she did not disclose the findings of the inquiry.
Goldberg, for his part, alleged on Sunday that Waltz had misrepresented the nature of their past interactions but did not provide further evidence, according to The Post.
A senior administration official told The Post that Trump’s choice to retain Waltz was partly influenced by a desire to avoid giving Democrats a “scalp”—a move that could have intensified the controversy and led to demands for other Cabinet members implicated in the chat to step down.
Goldberg is also known for a controversial 2020 article in which he alleged that Trump had called fallen U.S. service members “suckers” and “losers.” That claim was later undermined by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) release indicating that a weather-related flight cancellation, rather than presidential indifference, had prevented Trump from attending a memorial ceremony in France. Despite this, Goldberg never issued a correction.
The uproar surrounding Waltz and the Signal chat has now been overshadowed by a wave of tariffs set to go into effect on Wednesday.
Trump has dubbed April 2 “Liberation Day” for U.S. trade as he enacts reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations. Notably, the new measures include a 25% tariff on auto imports as well as similar levies on goods from Canada and Mexico.
Meanwhile, the British government is scrambling to negotiate a last-minute trade deal with the U.S. to soften the blow of expected tariffs on European imports. The United Kingdom has been engaged in trade discussions with the U.S. since its departure from the European Union in 2020, but progress had stalled under the previous Conservative government.
However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, met with Trump at the White House in February and expressed optimism about reaching a resolution. “We’re engaged in discussions with the United States about mitigating the impact of tariffs,” Starmer remarked last week.
Trump echoed that sentiment, suggesting that a “great” deal was within reach—one that could shield the U.K. from the impending tariffs. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds recently traveled to Washington for further negotiations, while Trump and Starmer spoke again by phone earlier this week to discuss the next steps.