Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz resigns over "Signalgate" disgrace

​US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz is stepping down after inadvertently adding journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat discussing sensitive military plans, triggering the "Signalgate" scandal and internal unrest at the White House.

The departure, confirmed by a source familiar with the matter on May 1, also includes deputy national security adviser Alex Wong, Caliber.Az reports per US media.

The exit marks the first high-profile resignation of Trump’s second term and follows mounting pressure over what the president himself has started calling “Signalgate.”

Waltz, a former Republican congressman from Florida, had mistakenly added The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a Signal group chat involving senior officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Vice President JD Vance. The group was discussing sensitive plans for U.S. airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen when Goldberg inadvertently gained access to the messages.

Goldberg’s bombshell article, published on March 24, revealed that Hegseth had shared specific times for U.S. air and drone strikes. Waltz initially tried to downplay the incident, telling Fox News host Laura Ingraham, “We're going to get to the bottom of it.” He also took “full responsibility” for what he called an “embarrassing” mistake.

Despite an early show of support from the president—“It was a mistake,” Trump said. “He’s not getting fired”—the gaffe gradually eroded trust between Trump and his security chief. Internal tensions were further stoked by mounting pressure from far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has grown increasingly influential within Trump’s circle.

Following a recent White House visit, Loomer reportedly urged Trump to dismiss senior National Security Council (NSC) officials aligned with Waltz. She welcomed the news of Waltz's departure on social media: “Hopefully, the rest of the people who were set to be fired but were given promotions at the NSC under Waltz also depart.”

The upheaval leaves Trump without one of the few remaining national security appointees with legislative experience. With Waltz gone, all three former Republican lawmakers initially tapped for top posts have either exited or never taken office. Matt Gaetz, originally nominated for attorney general, and Elise Stefanik, once in line to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, never assumed their roles.

Waltz’s exit after just 102 days in office is longer than that of Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, who was dismissed 24 days into the first term in 2017. But it nonetheless reflects the fragility of Trump’s national security apparatus amid a volatile mix of political loyalty tests and hard-right activism.

By Aghakazim Guliyev