Watch who you add to the group chat
Hello! It’s Rebecca Morin. Sticking with the big news this week, what do you think about President Donald Trump's top aides discussing war plans on an encrypted messaging application?
'Signalgate,' explained
Top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, discussed sensitive information about U.S. airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi sites in Yemen in a Signal group chat with a journalist present. The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed the stunning security breach in a first-hand account about how Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, mistakenly invited him into the chat. President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed confidence in his national security team even as Democrats in Congress demanded answers following the explosive report. Follow today’s updates.
- Who is Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor added to Pete Hegseth's war chat?
- What to know about Pete Hegseth amid leak of war plans in group text
Hours before the airstrikes on March 15, Hegseth shared secret plans, including targets and attack sequencing, in the chat. Both Ratcliffe and Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Ccommittee on Tuesday that their multi-day chat two weeks ago did not discuss the kind of specific operational details that could be considered classified. Democrats and some Republicans have said the Signal leak raises questions about the potential mishandling of national security information, which federal law dictates should only be shared through the government's own approved secure platforms. Democrats sent a letter demanding answers of the chat.
- A visual timeline of 'Signalgate'
- But her e-mails? Here is how Trump's team reacted to a Hillary Clinton security breach
A politics pit stop
- Unions sue Trump over Columbia University research cuts
- Trump aides refuse to give judge info about Venezuelan deportations
- Nazis were treated better than Venezuelans deported by Trump, judge says
- Columbia student sues Trump administration to prevent deportation
- Failed GOP candidate convicted in shooting spree aimed at Dems
- US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy steps down
Inside federal workers' return to office
Bring your own toilet paper. Take your trash home with you. Hours-long commutes. A total “morale killer.” That’s what some federal workers are seeing as they return to office following a mandate by the Trump administration. Federal workers across seven different agencies described the conditions of a rushed return to headquarters and field offices around the country that are ill-prepared for a flood of workers after years of telework. See what workers said about their experiences.
- Trump cuts hit struggling food banks, risking hunger for low-income Americans
- Federal cuts at tribal colleges leave students 'scared and worried'
You asked, On Politics answers: Supreme Court intervention?
Staying on the topic of federal workers, Kathleen from Oak Grove asked whether the Supreme Court will overrule Trump and dismiss top Trump adviser Elon Musk for the mass layoffs of federal workers?
The Trump administration this week asked the Supreme Court to block a ruling by a federal judge that requires the administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who were dismissed under Trump and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency effort to downsize the government. The Supreme Court hasn’t set a time for parties involved to respond to the Trump administration’s appeal — which could take days, weeks and even months. It’s not clear how the Supreme Court would likely rule in regards to the Trump administration’s request.
Got a burning question, or comment, for On Politics? You can submit them here or send me an email at rdmorin@usatoday.com.