Vice President JD Vance cautioned against bombing Yemen before the US restarted its airstrikes on the country, calling it a “mistake,” and suggested delaying the attack by one month, according to a leaked Signal conversation between administration officials.
Jeffrey Goldberg, a reporter for The Atlantic, was included in the Signal thread, apparently by accident, which is how he obtained the conversation.
An account believed to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared details of the March 15 airstrikes on Yemen two hours before they happened, and the White House confirmed that the Signal conversation appeared to be authentic.
A day before the airstrikes, an account labeled “JD Vance” expressed misgivings about the idea of targeting the Houthis. “Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake,” the Vance account said.
Vance framed his opposition to the airstrikes based on President Trump’s policies toward Europe, which have involved pressuring the Europeans to pay more for their own militaries to be less reliant on the US. Vance pointed out that only a small percentage of US shipping goes through the Suez Canal compared to European trade.
The message said: “3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”
Vance continued, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
An account believed to be Joe Kent, President Trump’s nominee to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, replied to Vance, saying, “There is nothing time sensitive driving the time line. We’ll have the exact same options in a month.”
Hegseth responded to Vance by saying the messaging to the American people about the war would focus on President Biden failing to deter Yemeni attacks and the Houthis being “Iran funded.” Iran is aligned with the Houthis, but it’s unclear how much support they give to the group, and US officials have acknowledged the Houthis wouldn’t take orders from Tehran and have their own weapons supply.
“VP: I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth also disputed the idea that the strikes could wait, saying he wanted it to happen before the Gaza ceasefire fell apart and before Israel attacked Yemen. The US launched the March 15 airstrikes just a few days after the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, announced they would reimpose their blockade on Israeli shipping in response to Israel’s ceasefire violations, which included imposing a full blockage on all goods entering Gaza.
“Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both. We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth also claimed bombing Yemen wasn’t really “about the Houthis” and suggested the messaging would focus on protecting shipping. “This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC [operations security]. I welcome other thoughts,” he said.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who added Goldberg to the chat, made his argument for bombing Yemen, saying it would “have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes” and that the administration would figure out a way to get Europe to pay. “Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans,” he said.
Vance said that he would agree with whatever Hegseth’s decision was. “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again,” he said.
The first round of US airstrikes on Yemen killed at least 53 people, including five children and two women, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry. Administration officials celebrated the strikes in the chat, including Waltz, who sent a fist emoji, a flame emoji, and an American flag emoji.
Since those initial airstrikes, the Houthis have carried multiple attacks targeting the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman, which US officials have said were intercepted. The Houthis also began firing missiles at Israel in response to Israel restarting its massive bombing campaign on Gaza.
The Houthis ceased their attacks on Israel and Israel-linked shipping when the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on January 19. The group has maintained that the only way to stop its attacks now is for another truce in Gaza and the end to the Israeli blockade on aid entering the Strip.
While the Trump administration officials’ conversation was focused on the impact on shipping, the US bombing campaign in Yemen is more about backing Israel. The Israeli news site Ynet reported that the US has told Israel not to worry about retaliating against the Houthis for their recent missile attacks, saying US forces will handle it.
President Trump is threatening the Houthis with “annihilation,” but a year-long US bombing campaign launched by President Biden from January 204 to January 2025 did not stop the Houthis, and a brutal US-backed Saudi-led war on Yemen from 2015 to 2022 also failed to remove the group from power.
