Mike Walz made a very unfortunate mistake. Trump could fire him over it.

It's a mistake any of us could have made, except that we aren't the National Security Advisor.

Mike Walz accidentally added, of all people, a journalist to a private Signal group discussing planned U.S. military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, according to a Politico report published on Monday.

The journalist he added was the Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

Here's what happened.

Waltz established a group chat titled "Houthi PC small group" to coordinate with senior national security officials on the impending strikes. The chat was intended as a secure channel for planning and it included high-ranking figures such as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

However, in an apparent error, Waltz also invited Goldberg, a former Jerusalem Post columnist, into the conversation.

Goldberg, as most journalists would, couldn't wait to share the story on The Atlantic yesterday. He said that he received a connection request from Waltz on Signal, an encrypted messaging service, followed by an invitation to the group. He first suspected it was a hoax but then things got weird. Waltz messaged the group, stating, "establishing a principles group for coordination" on the Houthi operation over the next three days. Waltz then asked participants to provide their best staff points of contact for coordination, a request to which Rubio responded by nominating State Department Counselor Michael Needham.

The leak escalated when Goldberg received detailed military plans, including targets, weapons packages, and the timing of the strikes, directly from Hegseth. According to Goldberg, the strikes were set for 1:45 p.m. EST. He checked X, and saw that reports of explosions in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, surfaced ten minutes after the scheduled time. Returning to the Signal chat, Goldberg watched administration officials congratulating each other on the operation's success.

White House reactions to the leak have been mixed. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement on Monday asserting that "President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including national security adviser Mike Waltz." One official predicted Trump would stand by Waltz despite the mistake . However, another official painted a starkly different picture, stating, "Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is an idiot." A third official suggested that Waltz might resign, though the decision hinges largely on how Trump feels about the leak/

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Waltz, telling Politico, "He's exceptionally qualified for the job. He is trusted, trustworthy. He was made for that job, and I have full confidence in him." Johnson argued that Waltz should not be fired, emphasizing Waltz's credentials.

The administration has acknowledged the breach. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes confirmed the chat's authenticity to Goldberg, stating, "This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain."

Former vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz (no relation to Mike Waltz) seized on the incident, reposting Goldberg's Atlantic story on X with the quip, "Hegseth is texting out war plans like invites to a frat party." Ouch.

Trump has not finalized his decision, with White House officials indicating he will determine Waltz's fate within the next day or two.

JPost contributed to this article.