“This case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday, referring to the scandal that has become known as Signalgate.
Leavitt added that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who launched the Signal chat and invited reporter Jeffrey Goldberg to it, “continues to be an important part of his national security team,” indicating that the White House is maintaining its line that Waltz will not lose his job over the controversy.
And she promised that steps will be taken to avoid such mishaps in the future, although the press secretary was not specific about exactly what steps those are.
But if history has taught us anything, it’s that just because the White House wants controversy to be over, doesn’t mean it is.
This was the case with Watergate, Iran-Contra, Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky, and numerous scandals since.
Siganlgate: Is It Really Over?
There are reasons to think this story has legs that will make it last more than a week, as the story broke a week and a day ago.
For one thing, details continue to dribble out. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, reported over the weekend, in a story with the headline “Mike Waltz Is Losing Support Inside the White House” both damaging quotes about Waltz’s position, as well as the revelation that Waltz has created and hosted other “sensitive national security discussions” on Signal with other cabinet members, including about the topic of Ukraine/Russia peace.
Another story this week by NBC News, quoted some top Republicans on the Hill as upset with Vice President J.D. Vance, for disagreeing, in the Signal chats published by The Atlantic, with the president’s position on the strike on the Houthis.
Why It Has Legs
There are reasons why the Signalgate story has stayed in the news. There’s clearly massive interest in the story, which is easy to understand or even relatable, to anyone who has ever accidentally added the wrong person to a group text.
According to an Axios analysis, the Signalgate story is the #1 English-language news story of 2025 so far in terms of social media engagement, more than doubling the engagement of the #2 story, “Meet the World War II veteran that recently celebrated his 100th birthday.”
Trump and his loyalists, in the meantime, have attempted to put out the fire by pushing absurd conspiracy theories, ranging from claims that the CEO of NPR somehow manipulated the situation from her seat on the board at Signal, to the idea that Goldberg’s number somehow got into Waltz’s phone by nefarious means, when the much more likely scenario is that Waltz has at some point been a source for the journalist.
How will Signalgate get out of the news? Likely the way most things do in the Trump era: Something else big will happen, that will take over the news cycle.
No Criminal Process Likely
When major presidential scandals linger, there’s usually a big reason why: Criminal investigations, special counsel probes, trials, Congressional hearings, and if it gets to that point, impeachment proceedings.
Those things seem unlikely this time, simply because the Trump Administration has placed ultra-loyalists in the top positions in the Justice Department and FBI. It’s unlikely that Attorney General Pam Bondi or FBI Director Kash Patel is going to let a major criminal investigation of Signalgate go forward, nor is Bondi likely to appoint a special counsel, which is how Robert Mueller ended up investigating the Russia affair in Trump’s first term.
President Donald J. Trump makes an investment announcement, Monday, March 3, 2025, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley.)
And with the GOP in control of both houses of Congress, it’s unlikely major hearings or a select committee will be taking place unless one of the Republican-led Intelligence committees goes rogue against the Trump Administration.
But despite all that, Democrats have a chance to keep the story in the news, by pointing out all of its absurdities, as well as pointing to patterns if and when those involved make other mistakes.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter
