WASHINGTON — One week after the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine said he was included in a group chat with senior national security officials about U.S. plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday “this case is closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned.”

What You Need To Know

  • White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday the "case is closed" regarding the Signal group chat that included The Atlantic editor-in-chief and national security officials

  • All members of the chat were given precise details about U.S. plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier in the month

  • Without offering specifics, Leavitt said steps have been taken to “ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again"

  • “The president has made it very clear: Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team," she said

Without offering specifics, she said steps have been taken to “ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again” and underscored President Donald Trump’s support for national security adviser Mike Waltz. Last week, Waltz said he took full responsibility for adding The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat but said no classified information was disclosed.

The back-and-forth texts on the commercial messaging app Signal included exact warplane launch and bomb drop times before U.S. military personnel began their mission earlier this month. Signal encrypts communications but is not approved for sending classified information.

The incident set off a firestorm of criticism that also implicated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. President Trump defended Hegseth and Waltz on Sunday in an interview with NBC News “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker. He called the incident “fake news,” adding, “I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts.”

On Monday, Leavitt said, “The president has made it very clear: Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team” and that “the president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well.”