White House considers Signal chat leak case 'closed,' reiterates support for Waltz, press secretary says

The White House has deemed the Signal group chat leak case "closed," as Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday, reaffirming President Donald Trump’s ongoing support for national security advisor Mike Waltz.

"As the president has made clear, Mike Waltz continues to play a vital role in his national security team," Leavitt stated during brief comments outside the White House press room. "For us, this case is considered closed."

She added, "Measures have been taken to ensure such an incident won’t occur again, and we are moving forward. The president, Waltz, and the entire national security team are working together efficiently, as demonstrated by the enhanced security of the United States under their leadership."

The Trump administration faced scrutiny from Democrats and critics after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, reported on March 24 that he had been added to a Signal group chat with key national security figures, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Signal, an encrypted messaging app, is designed to keep communications secure, much like texting or phone calls, but with extra privacy protections.

The Atlantic’s report suggested that the Trump administration was discussing "war plans" about a proposed strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. However, the administration insists no classified information was shared in the chat, with Trump repeatedly defending Waltz amid the backlash.

Waltz acknowledged his mistake in adding the journalist to the group, taking responsibility for the error in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.

"I created the group, and it’s my job to ensure everything is properly coordinated," Waltz said on "The Ingraham Angle."

"I didn’t notice this person in the group. I thought someone else was added," he continued. "The person I assumed was in the chat wasn’t actually there."

Leavitt said on Wednesday that the administration was looking into the incident with help from Elon Musk's team.

"The National Security Council, the White House Counsel’s Office, and Elon Musk’s team are leading the investigation into the leak," Leavitt explained during a press briefing.

"Elon Musk has offered to provide his technical team to investigate how this phone number was mistakenly added to the chat and to ensure it won’t happen again," she added.

Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to criticize the media’s focus on the group chat, calling it "the never-ending Signal story."

"They just keep going on and on about this! It’s so old!" Trump wrote. "The Fake News Media should instead cover how successful the attack was, and how Sleepy Joe Biden should have done this years ago."

"This story is stale and only being used because we’re having the most successful 'First 100 Days' in presidential history, and they can’t find anything else to talk about. The Fake News Media has the lowest approval ratings in history, and that’s for good reason. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"

This article was reported by journalist Angelia.