In wake of the Signal scandal: Deflected blame and Transatlantic tensions

​U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025.
Donald Trump has decided not to fire National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for sharing information in a Signal group chat ahead of a US strike on Yemen. Instead, he blamed a staffer for mistakenly adding Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to the chat instead of Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative.

Waltz admitted Tuesday that the incident was “embarrassing” and said, “I take full responsibility. I built the group.” But top national security officials, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, downplayed its significance in testimony before Congress on Tuesday, saying no classified material was shared in the unsecured Signal group — despite Goldberg’s assertion that plans were shared that, if intercepted by an adversary, could “conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.”

Congressional Democrats are calling for an investigation, and even their GOP counterparts admonished the chat as a “mistake” and urged the White House to “be honest and own up” to what happened.

Meanwhile, Europe – having been accused of freeloading by JD Vance and Pete Hegseth in the chat – is reckoning with what has become an irreparable rift in the transatlantic relationship. The UK government rejected the freeloading claim, highlighting that the planned airstrikes discussed in the Signal group were carried out with support from British refueling aircraft and that British troops have been fighting the Houthis alongside the US in the Red Sea.

What comes next? Despite the leak, the UK has stated that it will continue sharing intelligence with the US, but Eurasia Group expert Clayton Allen says it could “further incentivize European allies to plan for a future with uncertain US involvement.”

Congressional Republicans are unlikely to break from Trump’s stance and take further action against the officials involved. Meanwhile, Democrats will continue calling for an investigation and may be aided by Goldberg, who has said he may release the messages in the coming days if he can do so without compromising national security.

Allen says it will also fuel “speculation that this administration is learning as it goes and will amplify what has been private criticism of a somewhat ad hoc approach.”

More from GZERO Media

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 17, 2025.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

A federal judge set up a showdown with the Trump administration on Wednesday with a ruling that threatens to find the government in contempt if it fails to comply with a judicial order to provide due process to Venezuelans deported to a prison in El Salvador.

Gavin Newsom speaks at the Vogue World: Hollywood Announcement at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, CA on March 26, 2025.
Photo by Corine Solberg/Sipa USA

California governor Gavin Newsom kicked off a campaign to promote Canadian tourism in his state, pitching its sunny beaches, lush vineyards, and world-class restaurants.

An employee checks filled capsules inside a Cadila Pharmaceutical company manufacturing unit at Dholka town on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, April 12, 2025.
REUTERS/Amit Dave

Donald Trump’s administration announced that it is opening investigations into pharmaceutical and semiconductor supply chains, which will likely result in tariffs that will hurt suppliers in Europe, India, and Canada.

Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party speaks after Democrat Josh Stein won the North Carolina governor's race, in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., November 5, 2024.
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

As the Democrats start plotting their fight back into power in the 2026 midterms, one issue has come up again and again.

People gather after Friday prayers during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Amman, Jordan, on April 4, 2025.
REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak

Jordanian authorities announced on Wednesday the arrest of 16 people accused of planning terrorist attacks inside Jordan. The country’s security services say the suspects had been under surveillance since 2021, and half a dozen of them were reportedly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization.