‘Pathetic European free-loading’: What was said in Trump officials’ group chat

Published

3 months ago

March 25, 2025

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A group chat of top US officials – which a journalist was accidentally added to – discussed plans to conduct airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and fiery critique of “pathetic” Europe.

Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the “Houthi PC small group” on Signal on Thursday 13 March.

He wrote about what was said in the days that followed in his article The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.

Here’s what we know was said on encrypted messaging service Signal – in a group that included US vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Thursday 13 March

This day was seemingly aimed at establishing who would make up the small group.

A message to the group, from Michael Waltz read: “Team – establishing a principles [sic] group for coordination on Houthis, particularly for over the next 72 hours. My deputy Alex Wong is pulling together a tiger team at 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.”

The message continued: “Pls provide the best staff POC from your team for us to coordinate with over the next couple days and over the weekend. Thx.”

One minute later, the secretary of state Marco Antonio Rubio wrote: “Mike Needham for State,” apparently designating the current counsellor of the state department as his representative.

JD Vance wrote: “Andy baker for VP.” One minute after that, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, wrote: “Joe Kent for DNI.”

Nine minutes later, treasury secretary Scott Bessent wrote: “Dan Katz for Treasury.”

At 4.53pm Pete Hegseth wrote: “Dan Caldwell for DoD.”

And at 6.34pm, a user called “Brian” wrote “Brian McCormack for NSC.” Someone called “John Ratcliffe” then wrote with the name of a CIA official to be included in the group.

Who’s who in the chat?

Eighteen people were part of the chat – here is who appears to have been added and how they were identified in the chat:

JD Vance – US deputy president

Michael Waltz – national security adviser

Marco Antonio Rubio – the secretary of state, identified as MAR

Tulsi Gabbard – the director of national intelligence, identified as TG

Scott Bessent – treasury secretary, identified as Scott B

Pete Hegseth – US defence secretary

Susie Wiles – White House chief of staff

Stephen Miller – deputy White House chief of staff, called S M in the chat (identified only by his initials, which the report says Mr Goldberg “took to stand for Stephen Miller”)

Steve Witkoff – US Middle East and Ukraine negotiator

Jeffrey Goldberg – editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, identified as JG

Other members included various National Security Council officials and a CIA official who was not named in the report because they are an active intelligence officer.

Friday 14 March

At 8.05am, Mr Waltz texted the group: “Team, you should have a statement of conclusions with taskings per the Presidents [sic] guidance this morning in your high side inboxes,” with “high side” referring to classified computer systems.

“State and DOD [Department of Defence], we developed suggested notification lists for regional Allies and partners. Joint Staff is sending this am [morning] a more specific sequence of events in the coming days and we will work w DOD to ensure COS [chief of staff], OVP [office of the vice president] and POTUS [president of the United States] are briefed.”

Mr Goldberg says at this point, a “fascinating” policy discussion commenced, during which JD Vance wrote: “Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake.

“3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 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.

“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”

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At 8.27am, a message arrived from the Pete Hegseth reading: “VP: I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.

“Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both.

“We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC – operations security.

“I welcome other thoughts.”

Later in the conversation, Mr Waltz criticised the limited capabilities of European navies, writing: “Whether it’s now or several weeks from now, 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 how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.”

Mr Vance addressed Mr Hegseth in a message reading: “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”

Mr Hegseth replied: “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”

An account believed to be the deputy White House chief of staff, Stephen Miller, then said: “As I heard it, the president was clear: green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return. We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement. EG, 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.”

This was followed by the last text of the day, from Mr Hegseth, who wrote at 9.46am: “Agree.”

Saturday 15 March

At 11.44am, Mr Hegseth posted in Signal a “TEAM UPDATE” – but The Atlantic has not published what was said.

Mr Goldberg wrote in his article: “I will not quote from this update, or from certain other subsequent texts. The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility.”

He did say Mr Hegseth had sent lengthy text about how the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours from then, at 1.45pm Eastern Time. He said he waited in his car in a supermarket parking lot, waiting to see if Houthi targets would be bombed.

He said he went on X and searched Yemen at about 1.55pm, when he saw reports of explosions being heard across Sanaa, its capital city.

He said the only person to respond to Mr Hegseth in the morning was Mr Vance, who wrote: “I will say a prayer for victory”, along with two prayer emojis.

At 1.48am, Mr Waltz provided an update in the group which Mr Goldberg did not quote in full, but he did say the national security adviser described the operation as an “amazing job”.

John Ratcliffe then wrote: “A good start.”

Mr Goldberg said Mr Waltz responded with three emojis: a fist, an American flag and fire.

Others soon joined in, including Mr Rubio, who wrote, “Good Job Pete and your team!!,” and Susie Wiles, who texted: “Kudos to all – most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless.”

Mr Witkoff responded with five emojis: two hands-praying, a flexed bicep, and two American flags.

Tulsi Gabbard responded: “Great work and effects!”

Mr Goldberg said the after-action discussion included assessments of damage done, including the likely death of a specific individual – he did not say who.

US

Texas floods: The victims and people missing that have been named so far

Published

3 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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Texas floods: The victims and people missing that have been named so far

Details of those who have died and those who are missing after US flash floods are slowly emerging – with several young girls among those unaccounted for.

At least 69 people have died from the flooding in Texas, with an unknown number of people – including 11 girls and a counsellor from Camp Mystic in Kerr County – still missing.

As much as 10ins (25cm) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County on Friday, causing the banks of the Guadalupe River to burst at around 4am local time.

Tributes to those who died, and appeals for those who are still missing, are now being shared.

Who are the victims?

Renee Smajstrla, eight

Renee’s uncle Shawn Salta confirmed the eight-year-old had died, and said she was one of 700 children staying at Camp Mystic.

“Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly,” he said.

“We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday.

“She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.”

Sarah Marsh, eight

Mountain Brook mayor Stewart Welch confirmed the death of eight-year-old Sarah, from Alabama, who was a pupil at Cherokee Bend Elementary.

“This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community,” he said. “Sarah’s passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her.

“As we grieve alongside the Marsh family, we also remember the many others affected by this tragedy.”

Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine

Eloise’s mother Missy Peck told local broadcaster FOX4 that her daughter and Lila were best friends and cabinmates at Camp Mystic.

Writing about her daughter on Instagram, Ms Peck said: “She lost her life in the tragic flooding… our family is grieving and processing this unimaginable loss together.”

Lila’s family told NBC Dallas Fort Worth, a local affiliate network of Sky’s US partner network, that they were in “unimaginable grief”, and said: “We ache with all who loved her.”

Janie Hunt, nine

Janie’s family confirmed her death to a reporter from NBC Dallas Fort Worth, who said “her mother tells me she’s devastated”.

Richard ‘Dick’ Eastland, owner of Camp Mystic

Kerr County judge Rob Kelly told the Washington Post that Mr Eastland, who owned the camp died in a helicopter on the way to a Houston hospital.

Local outlet The Kerrville Daily Times reported he was killed while trying to save the girls from the flash floods.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers,” guest columnist Paige Sumner said in the Daily Times’ tribute to Mr Eastland.

Blair and Brooke Harber, 13 and 11

RJ Harber told CNN his daughters died during flooding in Kerr County, saying Blair “was a gifted student and had a generous kind heart”.

He added that Brooke “was like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment”.

He also said both his parents were still missing.

Jane Ragsdale, owner of Heart O’ the Hills camp

On Heart O’ the Hills’s website, the camp confirmed it was “right in the path of the flood” along the Guadalupe River.

While there were no campers in residence, Jane Ragsdale died. The camp said: “We at the camp are stunned and deeply saddened by Jane’s death.

“She embodied the spirit of Heart O’ the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer.”

Julian Ryan, 27

Relatives of Mr Ryan told local news broadcaster KHOU 11 that he died saving his family from floodwaters in Texas Hill County.

They described how he tried to smash a window to help them escape the rising water, but it cut his arm and he bled out before help could arrive.

Who is still missing?

Penny, Emlyn, and Madelyn ‘Emmy’ Jeffrey, 11

Christin Jeffrey Jones posted on Facebook that her parents Penny and Emlyn Jeffrey are missing, as well her niece Madelyn ‘Emmy’ Jeffrey.

She said her family were in Hunt, Texas, and “were spending the night at their cabin on the river at Casa Bonita which is now completely gone”.

“We ask for continued prayers and miracles,” she said. “Please share the word.”

Charlene and Mike Harber, 74 and 76

RJ Harber also told CNN that his parents, Charlene and Mike Harber, are still missing.

He believes the couple have died.

US

Deadly Texas floods: What were the warnings?

Published

6 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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Deadly Texas floods: What were the warnings?

Questions have been raised over extreme weather warnings in Texas, after heavy rain caused fatal flash floods along the Guadalupe River.

At least 51 people have died from the flooding in Texas, with an unknown number of people – including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County – still missing.

As rescue teams continue to search for the missing, local and federal officials have come under fire over their flood preparations and about why those along the river weren’t warned of the risks sooner.

What happened?

As much as 10ins (25cm) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County on Friday, causing the banks of the Guadalupe River to burst at around 4am local time.

Homes and vehicles were swept away by the downpour – equivalent to months’ worth of rain – while 27 girls staying at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river, went missing when the fast-rising floodwaters hit.

The death toll stands at:
• At least 43 people, including 15 children and 28 adults, in Kerr County,
• One person in Kendall County,
• At least four people in Travis County,
• At least two in Burnet County,
• And one person in the city of San Angelo.

What flood warnings were there?

Private forecasting company AccuWeather said it and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before it began, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas.

The NWS also issued flash flood emergencies – a rare alert notifying of imminent danger – at 4.23am local time.

In a statement, AccuWeather said that “these warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety”.

It also called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings.

However, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd said that one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain.

“It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he said.

Were they enough?

Locals have told various news agencies that while there had been phone alerts late into the night, forecasts headed into Friday evening did not predict the extreme conditions.

Christopher Flowers, who was staying at a friend’s house along the river when the flooding started, told the Reuters news agency: “What they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now.”

Kerrville resident Darryl Huffman told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that he did not believe the storm would pose such danger before its arrival.

“I looked out the window and it was barely sprinkling outside,” he said, “so I had no indication that the river was going to be right outside my driveway”.

Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities.

He said in a statement: “People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast.”

Separately, the NWS’s union told NBC News the agency’s offices in central Texas were well-staffed and had issued timely warnings, “giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met”.

What have officials said?

Local and federal officials have said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain and insisted that no one saw the flood potential coming.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official, said: “We know we get rain. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming.”

“We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States,” he said, adding: “We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever.”

Mr Kelly separately noted that while the county considered a flood warning system along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, “the public reeled at the cost”.

At a news conference with the Texas governor, Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said on Saturday that “everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict” before saying “we have all wanted more time and more warning and more alerts and more notification” from the NWS.

She said a “moderate” flood watch issued on Thursday by the NWS had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade their technology.

Will forecasting get better?

While Ms Noem said technology for the NWS would be upgraded, the White House has previously been criticised after Donald Trump‘s administration ordered 800 job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – the parent organisation of the NWS.

A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress.

Professor Costa Samaras, who worked on energy policy at the White House under President Joe Biden, said NOAA had been in the middle of developing new flood maps for neighbourhoods and that cuts to NOAA were “devastating”.

US

At least 51 people killed in Texas flooding as authorities face scrutiny over response

Published

15 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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At least 51 people killed in Texas flooding as authorities face scrutiny over response

At least 51 people have died after heavy rain caused flash flooding, with water bursting from the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas.

The overflowing water began sweeping into Kerr County and other areas around 4am local time on Friday, killing at least 43 people in the county.

This includes at least 15 children and 28 adults, with five children and 12 adults pending identification, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference.

In nearby Kendall County, one person has died. At least four people were killed in Travis County, while at least two people died in Burnet County. Another person has died in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County.

An unknown number of people remain missing, including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River.

Rescuers have already saved hundreds of people and would work around the clock to find those still unaccounted for, Texas governor Greg Abbott said.

But as rescue teams are searching for the missing, Texas officials are facing scrutiny over their preparations and why residents and summer camps for children that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate.

AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas.

The NWS later issued flash flood emergencies – a rare alert notifying of imminent danger.

“These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety,” AccuWeather said in a statement that called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings.

But one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.”It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he said.

Officials said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain, equivalent to months’ worth in a few short hours, insisting that no one saw the flood potential coming.

One river near Camp Mystic rose 22ft in two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the NWS’s Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 29.5ft.

“People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast,” Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in a statement.

“We know we get rain. We know the river rises,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official. “But nobody saw this coming.”

Judge Kelly said the county considered a flood warning system along the Guadalupe River that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, before he was elected, but that the idea never got off the ground because “the public reeled at the cost”.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked during a news conference on Saturday whether the flash flood warnings came through quickly enough: “We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that is why we are working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long.”

Presidential cuts to climate and weather organisations have also been criticised in the wake of the floods after Donald Trump‘s administration ordered 800 job cuts at the science and climate organisation NOAA, the parent organisation of the NWS, which predicts and warns about extreme weather like the Texas floods.

A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress.

“Accurate weather forecasts matter. FEMA and NOAA matter. Because little girls’ lives matter,” said Frank Figliuzzi, a national security and intelligence analyst at Sky’s US partner organisation NBC News.