Today, the Trump administration announced that national security advisor Mike Waltz would be leaving the White House after the disastrous Signal debacle last month. Waltz never seems to have learned his lesson, however, as a photo taken just yesterday shows Waltz using the app while in a meeting at the White House.
The photo, taken by Reuters photojournalist Evelyn Hockstein, shows Waltz checking “his mobile phone while attending a cabinet meeting held by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025,” the media organization’s website states. If you zoom in on the photo, it seems quite clear that Waltz is checking Signal. A message from JD Vance reads, “I have confirmation from my counterpart it’s turned. He’s going to be here in” before it cuts off.
Blown-up images of the photo circulated on social media on Thursday, as the outgoing national security advisor was ridiculed for still having used the app that got him into hot water last month.
Outgoing national security adviser @MikeWaltz47 using Signal at a cabinet meeting this week with @realDonaldTrump. @Reuters photo by @evelynpix pic.twitter.com/Dr0P4YEeJy
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) May 1, 2025
It is widely believed that one of the primary reasons Waltz is leaving the White House is because he accidentally added the head editor of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a secret Signal group chat. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defense Secretary, then accidentally shared Yemen war plans with Goldberg, who proceeded to publish them after the government accused him of lying. After being called out for this bit of buffoonery, Waltz claimed he was unsure how Goldberg had been added to the chat and intimated that other unknown parties may have somehow been responsible. Goldberg has said this is nonsense.
Photos show Mike Waltz literally checking Signal during the cabinet meeting (via Reuters) pic.twitter.com/XCxn6Tja4I
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) May 1, 2025
As of Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is taking Waltz’s position in an interim capacity. A report from The Daily Beast previously stated that Trump was potentially considering replacing Waltz—who one government insider recently referred to as a “fucking idiot”—with Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer who has alternately been described as a “bumbling fucking idiot” by another inside source. Trump has said he wants Waltz to be the U.S.’s new ambassador to the U.N.
Gizmodo reached out to the White House for comment.
Additional reporting has revealed that Waltz appears to have been involved in other Signal chats that involved foreign policy. In a previous White House press conference involving both Waltz and the President, the advisor stammered his way through a public non-apology in which he mumbled something about “lessons learned” before accusing the media of lying and then bragging about America taking a stand against terrorism. “Thank God for American leadership! Thank God for American strength! You’re welcome, world!” Waltz said, when Trump asked him why he had sent war plans to a journalist.
