National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats.
Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed.
It’s a more extensive use of the app than previously reported and sheds new light on how commonly the Trump administration’s national security team relies on Signal, a publicly available messaging app, to conduct its work.
“Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal,” said one of the people. All four were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the private chats.
Veteran national security officials have warned the practice potentially violates regulations on protecting sensitive national security information from foreign adversaries and federal recordkeeping laws if the chats are automatically deleted.
“It was commonplace to stand up chats on any given national security topic,” said one of the people involved in the chats, adding that the groups often included Cabinet members and high- level staff.
NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes noted that Signal is not banned from government devices and that some agencies automatically install it on employees’ phones. He also stressed that officials have used the app in both the Biden and Trump administrations.
“It is one of the approved methods of communicating but is not the primary or even secondary, it is one of a host of approved methods for unclassified material with the understanding that a user must preserve the record,” Hughes said. “Any claim of use for classified information is 100 percent untrue.”
None of the four individuals said they were aware of whether any classified information was shared, but all said that posts in group chats did include sensitive details of national security work.
