Presented by Boeing — President Trump offered the rare acknowledgment of a slip-up by his Cabinet on Tuesday as Washington was gripped by the fallout from a stunning group chat-gone-public.{beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The B ig Story  Trump team does damage control as scrutiny over group chat mounts President Trump offered the rare acknowledgment of a slip-up by his Cabinet on Tuesday as Washington was gripped by the fallout from a stunning group chat-gone-public. © Greg Nash Democrats assailed two members of Trump’s Cabinet during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing over why officials were discussing a planned military attack on a militant group in Yemen over the Signal platform, and how a journalist could have been let into the discussion. Trump described the episode as a "glitch" Tuesday morning while attacking The Atlantic and editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who apparently was invited to the chat by a staffer working for the president’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz.    Yet while Trump defended his team and signaled there would be no punishment, he also made it clear he saw the episode as a mistake that should not be repeated.  “It’s just something that can happen, it can happen,” Trump told reporters late on Tuesday. “It’s not a perfect technology, there is no perfect technology.”  He said Waltz should not apologize, but that in the future, a meeting like the one to discuss a military strike on the Houthis that included Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others, should be held in person.  White House officials publicly downplayed the story, and while Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Hegseth and Waltz should both lose their jobs, sources close to the Trump administration said they doubted any principals would be fired.  “I think this is one of these cases of ‘don’t f‑‑‑ing do it again,’” said one source close to the White House. “I do think internally someone is going to get chewed out.” At the global threats hearing held by the Senate Intelligence panel on Tuesday morning, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe both denied sharing any classified material through the chat, despite Goldberg reporting the discussion included detailed talks about the strike in Yemen.  Gabbard and Ratcliffe at times pointed to Hegseth, who was not at the hearing, saying some of the information on the strikes was shared by the Department of Defense and that it would have been Hegseth and his department’s call on whether it was classified. Because it was shared, both suggested they believed it was not classified.  At another point, when Gabbard said she would “defer” to the Defense Department, she was chastised by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).   “You’re the head of the intelligence community. You’re supposed to know about classifications,” he said.  Read the full report at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.  Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect defense and national security now and inthe future: House Democrats demand answers from Trump team about war plans Signal chat The top Democrats on the House’s Defense, Oversight, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees want answers from President Trump’s national security team, saying they’ve become “deeply troubled” after a journalist was unknowingly added to a group chat of senior officials discussing war plans. While the White House on Tuesday continued to confirm but sought to downplay the fact Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The …  Full Story   Vance to accompany wife to Greenland amid backlashVice President Vance said he’s traveling to Greenland on Friday, a move that comes after the Trump administration provoked backlash from officials in Greenland and Denmark when it was announced that second lady Usha Vance would be heading there. “There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday, that I decided that I didn’t want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I’m …  Full Story   Trump on war plans group chat: ‘It’s just something that can happen’President Trump on Tuesday acknowledged a mistake occurred when a journalist was swept up in a text message chain with top administration officials on plans for an attack on Houthi rebels, saying issues can happen with modern technology. The president was asked if anyone could be fired after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, wrote Monday that he was invited to a group chat on Signal by national …  Full Story   On Our Radar  Upcoming things we're watching on our beat:  Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will testify before the House Intelligence Committee on “The Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment” at 10 a.m. tomorrow.  Vice President Vance will deliver remarks after a tour of Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia tomorrow. Vance will also travel to Greenland alongside his wife, Usha Vance, as well as national security advisor Michael Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday. After a stop in Hawaii today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel on to Guam before also heading to the Philippines and Japan.  In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill:Schiff, Ricketts introduce bill targeting group they say was involved in Oct. 7 attack Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced a bill on Tuesday targeting a group they said was involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel for sanctions. The Accountability for Terrorist Perpetrators of October 7th Act, also introduced last year by Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), … Full Story   On Tap Tomorrow  Events in and around the defense world:  A Senate Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Space Command’s budget requests for FY2026, with testimony from Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton and Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, the commands’ respective heads, at 9:30 a.m. The Association of the U.S. Army will host Day 2 of its Global Force Symposium, at 9:30 a.m. in Huntsville, Ala.  The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will have a virtual discussion on space superiority, with Space Force Gen. Chance Saltzman, at 11 a.m.  A Senate Armed Services subpanel will hear from the superintendents of the three military service academies at 2:30 p.m.  A House Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on “U.S. Special Operations Forces and Command — Challenges and Resource Priorities for Fiscal Year 2026,” at 3:30 p.m.  What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets: America’s allies alarmed by a leaked group chat about attack plans (The Associated Press) US sees Russia, Ukraine choosing a longer war over a bad deal (Bloomberg) Veterans fear Trump administration plans to privatize VA health care (Military.com) Trending Today  Two key stories on The Hill right now: DHS suspends green card processing for refugees, asylees The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is pausing review of green card applications for some refugees and asylees, leaving in limbo those … Read more ‘Borrowers have zero power’: Trump moving student loans to SBA sparks concern, confusion President Trump moving student loans from the Education Department to the Small Business Administration (SBA) is rattling those affected, who say it … Read more  Opinions in The Hill Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: Putin is just playing Trump for timeThe ‘Houthi PC small group’ chat and the tragedy that was barely averted Cutting veterans’ suicide prevention in the name of efficiency is a fatal mistake  Close Thank you for signing up! 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