President Donald Trump on Wednesday addressed the growing controversy surrounding a group chat involving top administration officials.
Speaking from the Oval Office after signing an executive order, President Trump defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had reportedly shared sensitive logistical details about a strike on the Houthis in Yemen via a Signal group chat.
"Hegseth is doing a great job," President Trump said. "He had nothing to do with this."
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Hegseth was a participant in the group chat, which National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for creating. The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, reported this week that he was also added to the chat — apparently by mistake.
President Trump suggested the issue might have stemmed from a flaw in the app.
"I don't know that Signal works," he said. "I think Signal could be defective."
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The White House said technical experts affiliated with Elon Musk are investigating how Goldberg was added to the group chat. While administration officials have acknowledged that the chat contained sensitive information, they maintain it was not classified.
Trump, who was not part of the group chat, declined to say whether he believed the information was classified.
"That's what I've heard," he said. "I don't know."
