After messages from Mike Waltz’s leaked chat on the Signal app went massively public months ago, he was ousted as President Donald Trump’s top national security advisor.
Now, he’s up for a new position in the United Nations.
As he faced tough questions from senators at a July 15 confirmation hearing, Waltz defended his use of the app, saying it was explicitly recommended for government use.
So, is it ok for top officials to send messages on the app or not?
Signal is approved – but not for classified information
Signal was greenlit for government use by the Biden administration; however, it is not an approved channel for classified information, which senior defense officials say would include some of the messages sent on a Signal chat Waltz created and inadvertently shared with a journalist at The Atlantic.
Waltz accidentally added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat in which Trump’s top national security officials were discussing plans to strike Houthi targets in Yemen. On March 15, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent the chat details of the strikes shortly before the operation, including mention of the weapons used and strike and launch times. A detailed accounting of the error was revealed in The Atlantic, in an article by Goldberg that set off a firestorm in Washington.
At the July 15 hearing to consider his nomination as ambassador to the United Nations, Waltz defended his use of Signal, saying amid a heated exchange with Sen. Chris Coons that the app is “authorized” and “recommended” for government use.
He stated that what he did was firmly within the bounds of department recommendations.
“The use of Signal is not only authorized, it was recommended” in guidance released by the Biden administration, Waltz said.
Waltz then read from a guidance sheet from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) from December 2024 that recommended senior government officials who are “highly targeted” by spies and cyberattacks, “use only end-to-end encrypted communications… such as Signal or similar apps.”
Signal had been approved during the Biden administration to coordinate meetings and other daily activities, according to a former senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official, who was involved in regular classified briefings, said Signal was not to be used for substantive discussions. Classified information was restricted to secure government communication channels.
Waltz’s statement on July 15 did not explore any of this nuance.
More: Former Trump adviser Mike Waltz faces ‘Signalgate’ grilling in Senate hearing for UN post
The Pentagon Inspector General is still reviewing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s participation in the Signal chat in which he discussed airstrikes before pilots had launched them. Several current and former Defense officials have told USA TODAY that such information, disclosing future military operations, is almost certainly classified.
Waltz on July 15 denied to the Senate committee at his confirmation hearing that anything classified was shared on the chat.
“We both know Signal is not a secure way to convey classified information, and I was hoping to hear from you that you had some sense of regret,” Coons said.
“There was no classified information on that chat,” Waltz said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Waltz says Signal is ‘recommended’ for government. Is it?
