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By Gabe Whisnant and Anna Commander
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Hillary Clinton, former first lady, secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate, reacted after reports surfaced that officials of President Donald Trump's administration accidentally included a journalist in a group chat in which sensitive U.S. military plans for strikes against Yemen were discussed.
Newsweek reached out to the National Security Council (NSC) for comment earlier on Monday.
Why It Matters
The reported handling of private military discussions among top officials in Trump's Cabinet has triggered significant U.S. security concerns for some.
Read More on Politics
Social media erupted after reports of the communications held by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
Goldberg says he was included in the message thread with the Trump officials in the encrypted messaging app Signal this month. He said that the chat included U.S. military plans involving airstrikes against the Houthis, the Iran-backed militia that has been launching attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea amid a clash over control of shipping routes.
The Atlantic journalist said Hegseth shared "operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing." Vance then reportedly responded on the thread to Hegseth, "I will say a prayer for victory."
Hegseth later went on to rebuke the report by Goldberg, in part saying, "Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that."
What To Know
While serving as former President Barack Obama's secretary of state, Clinton sparked controversy by using a private email server for official communications instead of the government-managed system. The issue remained polarizing and politically damaging throughout her unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign against Trump.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Clinton on Monday posted a preview of The Atlantic's article and said: "You have got to be kidding me." Clinton's post had nearly 4 million views as of 6:46 p.m. ET.
Users resurfaced posts by current Trump officials who called out Clinton over her emails. Sarah Longwell, founder and publisher of The Bulwark, posted to X on Monday, highlighting Secretary of State Marco Rubio's 2016 post.
"I'm going to spend the rest of my afternoon posting clips of high-level officials on that Signal text chain demanding 'accountability' for Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified information," Longwell said.
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What People Are Saying
House Speaker Mike Johnson to reporters on Monday after news of the reported messages spread: "I just was with the president in the Oval Office just now. The administration is addressing what happened. Apparently, an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They are going to track that down and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Johnson added: "What you did see, though, I think, was top-level officials doing their job, doing it well and executing ... on a plan with precision. That mission was a success. No one was jeopardized because of it. We're grateful for that, but they will certainly, I'm sure, make sure that that doesn't happen again."
CNN senior political commentator and former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger on X, replying to Clinton's post on Monday: "OMG THIS IS FUNNY"
Billionaire Elon Musk posted to X on Monday: "Best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of The Atlantic magazine, because no one ever goes there"
MAGA influencer Rogan "DC Draino" O'Handley on X, reacting to Clinton on Monday: "Hillary is trying to troll Trump folks saying 'You have got to be kidding me' about the Signal chat with a reporter Does someone want to remind her why she lost? This witch had an unsecured private server holding ALL OF HER STATE DEPARTMENT EMAILS that was likely hacked by multiple foreign nations Maybe sit this one out Hillbag".
What Happens Next
It is immediately unknown how Trump plans to handle the reported information breach as his first 100 days in office continue to unfold.
Update 3/24/25, 8:14 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 3/24/25, 6:49 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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