Fallout Intensifies After Bizarre Text Breach

After the extraordinary revelation that a journalist was accidentally looped into a group chat on US war plans, the big question in DC on Tuesday is whether national security adviser Mike Waltz will keep his job, reports Politico. So far, the White House is standing by him publicly after it appears that Waltz mistakenly invited Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to participate in a Signal group chat about a pending strike on Houthis.

• Privately: Behind the scenes is a different matter. "Half of them (are) saying he's never going to survive or shouldn't survive," one senior administration official tells the outlet, describing internal discussions among staffers. At least two aides said the idea of Waltz resigning is in play.
• Then again: Axios picks up on defiance among insiders. "We don't care what the media says," it quotes one Trump adviser as saying. "We can easily handle what would kill any other administration." The story notes that President Trump also relishes defying the demands of his critics. One possible scenario is that Waltz offers his resignation and Trump refuses it.

• 'Chill down my spine:' Goldberg did not publish any details of the war plans but wrote about them in generalities, notes the New York Times. The chat included defense chief Pete Hegseth, who posted on March 15 "operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen," he wrote. The strikes then took place. Goldberg tells the Times that "up until the Hegseth text on Saturday, it was mainly procedural and policy texting. Then it became war plans, and to be honest, that sent a chill down my spine."
• Hegseth v. Goldberg: Hegseth spoke to journalists Monday and called Goldberg a "deceitful and highly discredited" journalist, per Axios. "I've heard how it was characterized," he said. "Nobody was texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that." Goldberg responded: "He can say that it wasn't a war plan, but it was a minute-by-minute accounting of what was about to happen, organized by CENTCOM ... and [shared] with a bunch of civilian leaders."
• Harsh words: Democrats are demanding an investigation, notes the Washington Post. It "should go without saying that Trump administration officials must not use Signal for discussing sensitive intelligence matters reserved for the Situation Room—and doing so including members of the public is gross incompetence," said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the top Democrat on the House's homeland security panel. Former transportation chief and Navy vet Pete Buttigieg called it "the highest level of f---up imaginable," per the Hill. (And he didn't use dashes.)
• Republicans, too: "Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels—and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters. Period," tweeted GOP Rep. Mike Lawler. He called for safeguards to make sure it never happens again.

(More Mike Waltz stories.)