Signal Group Chat Leak: Read Full Transcript of US Attack Plans Against the Houthis

Washington: US President Donald Trump ’s national security team has come under fire after The Atlantic published new details from a group chat revealing US attack plans on Yemen.

The messages, sent to The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, accidentally exposed specific details about the attack on Houthi military targets, raising serious concerns over operational security.

Although the Trump administration has maintained that no classified information was posted to the Signal chat, the conversation reveals details about US bombings, drone launches, strike packages, and even specific weapons planned for use against Houthi forces.
 

The Associated Press reported that Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth posted multiple details about the impending strike, using military language to outline when a “strike window” would open, the location of a “target terrorist,” time elements surrounding the attack, and when various weapons and aircraft would be deployed. He also stated that the US was “currently clean” on operational security.

The chat also included details about the exact timing of the attack, favorable weather conditions, and confirmation of a “target terrorist” being killed.

The group, named “HOUTHI PC SMALL,” included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, among other officials.

Details of launch times for F-18 fighter jets and MQ-9 drones, along with a timeline of expected strikes, were also exposed. One message stated that the first bombs were set to drop at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time.

Full Transcript of the Chats

March 27, 2025

Michael Waltz – 4:28 PM
Team—establishing a principals group for coordination on Houthis, particularly over the next 72 hours. My deputy, Alex Wong, is pulling together a tiger team at the deputies/agency Chief of Staff level following up from the meeting in the Sit Room this morning for action items and will be sending that out later this evening.

Please provide the best staff POC from your team for us to coordinate with over the next couple of days and over the weekend.
    •    MAR: Mike Needham for State.
    •    JD Vance: Andy Baker for VP.
    •    TG: Joe Kent for DNI.
    •    Scott B: Dan Katz for Treasury.
    •    Pete Hegseth: Dan Caldwell for DoD.
    •    Brian: Brian McCormack for NSC.

March 28, 2025

Michael Waltz – 8:05 AM
Team, you should have a statement of conclusions with taskings per the President’s guidance this morning in your high-side inboxes.

State and DoD, we developed suggested notification lists for regional allies and partners. Joint Staff is sending a more specific sequence of events this morning for the coming days, and we will work with DoD to ensure COS, OVP, and POTUS are briefed.

JD Vance – 8:16 AM
Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan, but I think we are making a mistake.

Three percent of US trade runs through the Suez. Forty percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary.

The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message. But I am not sure the President is aware of how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s also a risk of a moderate to severe spike in oil prices.

I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. However, there is a strong argument for delaying this by a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.

Joe Kent – 8:22 AM
There is nothing time-sensitive driving the timeline. We’ll have the exact same options in a month. The Israelis will likely take strikes & therefore ask us for more support to replenish whatever they use against the Houthis. But that’s a minor factor.

John Ratcliffe – 8:26 AM
From the CIA perspective, we are mobilizing assets to support now, but a delay would not negatively impact us. Additional time would allow us to identify better starting points for coverage on Houthi leadership.

Pete Hegseth – 8:27 AM
VP, I understand your concerns—and fully support you raising them with POTUS.

Important considerations, most of which are tough to predict (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc.). Messaging is going to be tough no matter what—nobody knows who the Houthis are—which is why we must stay focused on:

Biden failed. Iran funded.

Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. Two immediate risks of waiting:
    1.    This leaks, and we look indecisive.
    2.    Israel takes action first—or the Gaza ceasefire falls apart—and we don’t get to start this on our own terms.

We are prepared to execute, and if I had the final go/no-go vote, I believe we should. This is not about the Houthis; I see it as restoring freedom of navigation—a core national interest—and reestablishing deterrence, which Biden cratered.

That said, we can easily pause. If we do, I will do all I can to enforce 100% OPSEC. I welcome other thoughts.

Michael Waltz – 8:32 AM
The trade figures we have are:
    •    15% of global trade
    •    30% of container trade

It’s difficult to break this down specifically to US trade because much of the container cargo is either going through the Red Sea or around the Cape of Good Hope before becoming manufactured goods for transatlantic trade with the United States.

Whether we proceed today or not, European navies do not have the capability to defend against the sophisticated anti-ship cruise missiles and drones the Houthis are now using. At some point, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes.

Per the President’s request, we are working with DoD and State to determine the associated costs and how to levy them on the Europeans.

JD Vance – 8:45 AM
Pete, if you think we should do it, let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again. Let’s make sure our messaging is tight. If there are things we can do upfront to minimize risk to Saudi oil facilities, we should do it.

Pete Hegseth – 8:49 AM
VP, I fully share your loathing of European freeloading. It’s PATHETIC.

But Mike is correct—we are the only ones on the planet (on our side) who can do this. Nobody else is even close. The question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS’s directive to reopen shipping lanes.

I think we should go, but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.

SM – 9:35 AM
As I heard it, the President was clear: green light, but we must soon make it clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return. We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement.

If Europe doesn’t remunerate, then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost, there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return.

Pete Hegseth – 11:44 AM
TEAM UPDATE:
    •    12:15 PM: F-18s launch (1st strike package).
    •    1:45 PM: “Trigger-based” F-18 1st strike window starts (target terrorist at known location). Strike drones (MQ-9s) launch.
    •    2:10 PM: More F-18s launch (2nd strike package).
    •    2:15 PM: Strike drones on target (first bombs expected).
    •    3:36 PM: F-18 2nd strike starts; first sea-based Tomahawks launched.

JD Vance – 1:13 PM
I will say a prayer for victory.

Michael Waltz – 5:10 PM
VP, building collapsed. Had multiple positive IDs. Pete, Kurilla, the IC—amazing job.

JD Vance – 5:12 PM
What?

Michael Waltz – 5:13 PM
Typing too fast. The first target—their top missile guy—was positively ID’d walking into his girlfriend’s building. It’s now collapsed.

JD Vance – 5:14 PM
Excellent.

MAR – 5:14 PM
Good job, Pete and your team!

Michael Waltz – 5:15 PM
The team in MAL did a great job as well.

Pete Hegseth – 5:20 PM
CENTCOM was on point. Great job all. More strikes ongoing tonight; full initial report tomorrow.

Susie Wiles – 5:21 PM
Kudos to all—most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless.

Trump Officials Deny Revelation of Classified Information

While Hegseth, who is traveling in the Indo-Pacific, has refused to comment on the leak, his spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement Wednesday: “There were no classified materials or war plans shared. The Secretary was merely updating the group on a plan that was underway.”

Representative Mike Waltz also dismissed allegations of a security breach in a post on X, writing: “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called The Atlantic’s story a hoax, saying: “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.’ This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”

Vice President JD Vance accused Goldberg of overselling the information he had: “It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had. But one thing in particular really stands out. Remember when he was attacking Ratcliffe for blowing the cover of a CIA agent? Turns out Ratcliffe was simply naming his chief of staff.”

Trump also dismissed the allegations, stating this was the only glitch in the past two months.