Humiliation as Trump defense chiefs accused of lying about leaked war plans that could have ‘killed US pilots’: Live updates

Vice President JD Vance weighed in on The Atlantic releasing all of the texts in Signal chat chain on the Yemen bombings.

He claimed editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg ‘oversold’ what he read in the chat.

‘It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had,’ Vance wrote on his personal X account.

He also berated Goldberg for writing in the article that CIA director John Ratcliffe blew the cover of CIA agent. The texts said Ratcliffe named his chief of staff.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Democratic Congressman Jim Himes, who is ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, slammed the Trump administration officials for leaking the Yemen war plans on Signal.

‘It’s by the awesome grace of god that we are not mourning dead pilots right now,’ the Connecticut congressman said in his opening.

‘You apologize, you own it,’ Himes said.

The congressman slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz attacking The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in response.

Himes noted Golberg was added by a Trump official and didn’t even want to be included on the chat he was included in.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) called for the defense secretary to resign during the House hearing.

‘Secretary Hegseth has disclosed military plans as well as classified information. He needs to resign immediately,’ the lawmaker said.

Krishnamoorthi also called for a full investigation to be undertaken regarding whether other similar signal chats were occurring in the administration.

He made the call with a massive poster including Hegseth’s Signal message behind him.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also called for Hegseth to be fired in a letter to President Trump on Tuesday

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

One of Donald Trump’s least favorite judges, at least as of late, has been assigned to oversee a case regarding the White House’s latest scandal.

D.C. district court judge James Boasberg was assigned to a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s Signal scandal, in which he accidentally invited a journalist into a private group chat discussing military strikes in Yemen.

The fiasco is the latest fire that the White House is seeking to quickly snuff out.

Boasberg, who was appointed by Barack Obama, recently caught the ire of Trump after ruling against the White House’s deportation flights to El Salvador.

The president has called for Boasberg to be impeached, and Trump’s friends in Congress are demanding that the judge testify next week.

His being appointed to the Waltz case will certainly add a new dimension to the House Judiciary Committee hearing expected early next week.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

During a House DOGE subcommittee hearing on Wednesday morning, a powerful Republican accused National Public Radio of spewing ‘disinformation’ while receiving federal funding.

‘I feel like there’s disinformation every time I listen to NPR,’ House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told the outlet’s CEO Katherine Maher during a congressional hearing.

‘I have a problem with that because you get federal funds,’ Comer added.

‘Because of technology today, I don’t think there is a role for public radio anymore and I think you’ve abused the privilege that you’ve had receiving federal funds.’

Behind Comer were signs showing half a dozen NPR headlines which he claimed were all false.

Greenland’s leadership called Vice President JD Vance and Usha Vance’s changed itinerary to their island visit a ‘masterful spin’ about their true intensions.

‘I have to speak diplomatically here, but in many ways it’s a masterful spin to make it look like they’re escalating when really they’re de-escalating,’ Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told Danish broadcaster DR on Wednesday.

But President Donald Trump doubled down on his desire for the island.

‘We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,’ he told podcaster Vince Coglianese. ‘I hate to put it that way, but we’re going to have to have it.’

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) slammed Gabbard, Ratcliffe and the top Trump officials for lying to Americans.

‘The idea that this information if it was presented to our committee would not be classified, you all know is a lie,’ he said. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘I’ve seen things much less sensitive presented to us with high classification, and to say that it isn’t is a lie to the country,’ he continued.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

CIA Director John Ratcliffe insists he did not transmit classified information appearing before the House committee.

Ratcliffe said he had included the name of his chief of staff in the chat who was not an undercover operative. He claimed the journalist was trying to mislead in his report where he withheld the name.

‘At the end of the day what was most important was the mission was a remarkable success,’ Ratcliffe insisted.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Himes noted that yesterday Senator Martin Heinrich asked if the Signal chat included weapons packages, timing or targets.

He noted that Kash Patel said not that he was aware of and Gabbard said the same.

Himes then read the message from Hegseth detailing the strike timing that was released this morning.

He asked the witnesses to reflect on their answers.

Patel was quick to note he was not in the Signal group chat.

Gabbard insisted her answer yesterday was based on her recollection or ‘lack thereof’ of the details posted. She also argued she was not directly involved in that part of the Signal chat, basically throwing the defense secretary who sent it under the bus.

Himes asked if in two weeks she had just forgot it was in the chat.

‘I did not recall the exact details,’ Gabbard pushed back.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is plotting how to defund anti-MAGA judges impeding Donald Trump’s agenda.

The powerful Ohio Republican and Trump ally is sick of ‘political’ district judges who are halting executive actions meant to cut government spending, deport illegal aliens and freeze foreign aid.

There have been 15 lower court injunctions that have paused White House initiatives since the beginning of the 78-year-old Republican’s term. That’s more than the entire tenure of Joe Biden, 14, and both of President Barack Obama’s terms combined, 12.

Already over 50 judicial actions nationwide have paused White House initiatives. Trump has decried the judges as ‘radical’ and the injunctions as ‘unlawful.’

‘Everything’s on the table,’ Jordan told DailyMail.com when asked how he may lead a congressional response to district judges’ ‘ridiculous orders.’

He noted that there is already legislation being considered to disarm district court judges and others who may push forward with policy-blocking injunctions. Jordan, 61, also noted that congressional hearings provide opportunities to grill the judges.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

In her opening statement before House members, Tulsi Gabbard added remarks about the Signal leak.

‘It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added to a Signal chat with high level national security principals having a high-level discussion about an imminent strike against the Houthis and the effects of the strike,’ she said.

Gabbard said the national security adviser has taken ‘full responsibility’ and the National Security Council is conducting an in-depth review along with technical experts to ‘determine how the reporter was added.’

She insisted no classified information was shared or war plans.

She also said it was a ‘standard update’ to the national security Cabinet and was provided alongside updates to foreign partners in the region.

Gabbard the most important thing was the success of the military operation.

She did not include such comments in her opening before the Senate committee yesterday.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

The hearing is now underway with top Trump officials testifying before the House Intelligence Committee.

The hearing is supposed to be an annual assessment of global threats to U.S. national security, but the administration is facing intense criticism over leaking war plans detailing airstrikes in Yemen in a group chat on Signal.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and others appear before House members after going before the Senate committee yesterday.

The White House is doubling down on its argument there was no classified material in the Signal text chain on the Yemen bombings that included a reporter.

‘NO WAR PLANS,’ National Security Adviser Mike Waltz wrote on X after The Atlantic released the full text chain.

‘BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests,’ he added.

The full Yemen war plans texted in a group chat between top Trump administration officials over encrypted chat service Signal have been released by The Atlantic.

On Monday, the editor in chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was added to an unclassified group chat involving several of Trump’s most important cabinet members discussing Yemen war plans.

Withheld from their previous report were any messages about specific timings, weapons or other plans.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Underscoring the whole-of-government approach to addressing the illegal immigration crisis, Housing and Urban Development will no longer fund housing for undocumented people.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced this week an end to publicly-funded housing for illegal immigrants.

Turner revealed there are currently 24,000 ‘ineligible’ people living in HUD housing, to include undocumented immigrants, who will soon be booted from their homes.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel will testify before the House Intelligence Committee today.

It comes the day after the trio appeared by the Senate panel on Tuesday.

The timing of the public hearings meant to provide an update on the state of worldwide threats has turned into a display to grill Trump administration officials on the already-infamous Signal group chat discussing war plans.

Democrats berated Ratcliffe and Gabbard for their participation in discussing over the encrypted communications application plans to bomb Yemen.

Patel largely became a bystander in the Senate hearing.

Donald Trump signed an executive order making radical changes to ensure elections are ‘free, fair, and honest’ and possibly taking millions off the voter rolls.

‘Election fraud, you’ve heard the term,’ Trump said while signing the order, ‘ended, hopefully,’ he continued while he signed the paper with a black sharpie.

‘At least this will go a long way toward ending it,’ the president added, noting the administration is planning further actions regarding election integrity.