What’s next for Waltz and Hegseth

Mar 27, 2025

Presented by the National Retail Federation

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine

Good Thursday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, already excited for my first cup of tea with Marjorie Taylor Greene.

More importantly … This is my first Opening Day and the forecast looks great. Send me some ballgame tips.

In today’s Playbook …

— Signalgate leaves Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz down but (maybe) not out.

— New automotive tariffs ratchet up America’s trade war tactics.

— Pressure on Chuck Schumer eases (somewhat).

DRIVING THE DAY

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a television interview outside the White House, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has the president’s support so far, but his reputation is still taking a hit from Signalgate. | AP

I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I’M DOING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lands in Guam today with questions swirling about his judgment following yesterday’s part deux jaw-dropper from The Atlantic. The former Fox News host will be confident of hanging onto his job after maintaining the support of Donald Trump, despite having posted what the entire world can now see were detailed battle plans in an unsecured chat group — and then insisting this was somehow fine. Sadly for Hegseth the story has gone way too viral to actually disappear. At best, both he and national security adviser Mike Waltz — not to mention the White House comms operation — look damaged by a bruising week.

And to be clear: There is no administration in the world — beyond this one — where a blunder of these proportions happens and nobody gets fired or resigns. Not in London. Not in Moscow. Not in Tokyo. Not in Pyongyang. Nowhere.

First read this: POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, Megan Messerly and Jack Detsch wrap up a disastrous few days in the White House which have unsettled plenty of Trump allies. “Some staunch Trump loyalists are frustrated at being spun by an administration they have long heralded for its commonsense, no-holds-barred approach,” they write. “While Trump rarely admits mistakes, many of his allies said Wednesday that’s exactly what the White House needed to do.”

But whatever: Trump’s America is a rare beast indeed, and it is absolutely in the president’s gift to let this pass. The president clearly loves his top team, and has his own media echo chamber to help out if he decides it’s all a “hoax.” (Sample chyron on last night’s Fox News: “DEMOCRATS ARE OVERPLAYING THE SIGNAL LEAK.”) Plus — the Houthi mission was indeed a success. U.S. military lives were not lost. And the rest of the media can’t write about this gaffe forever.

On that point … The White House was visibly keen to move things on yesterday, and the dramatic announcement of 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles may just have done the trick. Such is the power of the bully pulpit, the tariff story was leading every major U.S. news site last night. So — job done?

Maybe: But that doesn’t mean Waltz and Hegseth are out of the woods. The president himself pinned the blame on Waltz yesterday, and there’s no doubt he’s damaged goods in parts of the White House. Especially worrying for Waltz are the persistent questions within MAGA world about his own relationship with Jeffrey Goldberg, despite his denials. And Goldberg’s pointed refusal to discuss their relationship at all is getting painful (for Waltz) to watch.

The juice on Waltz: “Waltz’s relationship with top White House staff was fraying before this,” POLITICO White House bureau chief Dasha Burns — who first revealed the internal push against Waltz — tells Playbook via email. “And between the substance of the story and his handling of the fallout, the walls are closing in. One person close to White House tells me: ‘He has no credibility because he continues to lie. Everyone is united against him. When you’re becoming a liability or a distraction for the president, it’s time to resign.’” Oof.

But but but: Another White House ally tells Dasha that although Waltz has been on thin ice for a while, Signalgate may actually save him — for now — because “they don’t want to give Goldberg a scalp.” “So it’s possible Waltz survives,” Dasha writes, “or that it requires a little distance from this relentless news cycle before the proverbial guillotine comes down.”

And as for Hegseth … Normally after a gaffe of these proportions, the PR playbook would be to give one softball interview and then back away quietly, Homer Simpson-style, to let the noise die down. (This was essentially what Waltz tried to do Monday, until his interview with Laura Ingraham turned into a car crash.) But Hegseth’s very public-facing role means he’s frequently on tour with the press in tow — and this week’s long-planned trip to the Pacific means he’ll face the media day after day.

It’s all about Pete: Indeed, while Waltz has understandably taken much of the flack — given the extraordinary nature of his blunder — those in national security circles say it’s Hegseth who committed the gravest offence, my POLITICO colleague Robbie Gramer — who covers NatSec — texts in to say.

“Their argument is that Waltz created the group chat for a very routine and not classified reason: Asking principals who their main staffer would be to coordinate a meeting,” Robbie notes. “Had it ended there, [Atlantic Editor] Jeffrey Goldberg’s inclusion could've been nothing more than a minor snafu that became a funny item in Playbook. But it was Hegseth's decision to use that group chat to type out highly sensitive, potentially classified information that turned this into the scandal it is.” It’s almost like hiring a 40-something TV host as your defense secretary comes with a few risks.

And there’s more: Fox News’ Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin writes (on her X feed) that Hegseth was correct to say the info he posted in the group chat was not “war plans” … It was far more sensitive than that.

A message from the National Retail Federation:

NRF supports plans by the administration and Congress to expand the American economy through tax reform, deregulation and new sources of affordable energy. But trade policy issues are creating uncertainty and causing consumers to hold back on spending. High tariffs on imported goods will raise the price of products and slow economic growth. We need trade policies that protect American families, workers and small businesses. Tariffs should always be strategic and a tool of last resort. Learn more.

WHERE THE STORY GOES NEXT: The legal angle currently looks the most interesting one, given — in a plot twist even the hammiest soap opera would be ashamed of — Trump’s bête noir Judge James Boasberg got randomly assigned the case yesterday. Transparency campaigners at American Oversight are demanding an emergency order preventing the Signal chat (and presumably others like it) from being deleted, given we now know they’re using disappearing messages. The time, pressure means we could get an emergency hearing pretty fast. Watch this space.

Meanwhile in Congress: CBS reported Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and his ranking member counterpart Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) are seeking an independent investigation into the scandal — although given that Trump fired all those inspectors general shortly after becoming president, it’s unclear how probing a probe would actually be. Indeed, given the supplicancy we’ve seen from the Hill GOP since Jan. 20, it’s hard to see Congress getting too involved — even if several Republicans did voice discontent yesterday.

But the biggest problem for all involved … is the long-term damage done. Voters care about competency, and this gaffe was big enough (and ridiculous enough) for criticism to stretch way beyond party lines — as the reactions from Piers Morgan, Tomi Lahren, Dave Portnoy and Andrew McCarthy proved. And a YouGov poll on Monday — before the full Hegseth messages were revealed — found 74 percent of Americans (and 60 percent of Republicans) thought the leak was a somewhat or serious problem. So very much not a hoax.

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AMERICA VS. THE WORLD

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: America’s (former?) allies are collectively reeling this morning from Trump’s announcement of worldwide automobile tariffs, which he said will come into effect next week. The hardest-hit economies will include Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the European Union, POLITICO’s Doug Palmer and Daniel Desrochers report. It makes for an additional whammy for U.S. trade partners to stomach next week, alongside Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, which are due to come into force April 2.

But watch out, America … Because plenty of experts believe slapping taxes on car parts imported from Canada and Mexico “will hit U.S. automakers, which have extensive operations in both countries, harder than their competitors offshore,” Doug and Daniel report. And U.S. auto dealers “have warned the administration that tariffs would make cars less affordable, at a time when many Americans remain concerned about inflation.” Trump has waved away such concerns, insisting his tariffs will raise revenue for lower taxes while bringing car manufacturing back to America.

To the north: These and other Trump tariffs are looming large in Canada’s coming federal elections on April 28 — and particularly in Canadian border towns, POLITICO’s Nick Taylor-Vaisey reports from Windsor, Ontario. In effect: “As long as there’s a trade war, Trump will be the ballot question.” It’s both good and bad news for new PM Mark Carney, who has received a major boost in the polls by pushing back hard against U.S. aggression. Follow the election via our ace colleagues on Ottawa Playbook

TIK TOK ON THE CLOCK: There was better news (sort of) for China, for whom Trump yesterday floated the prospect of cutting tariffs in exchange for support on a TikTok deal. “Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” he told White House reporters, per NYT’s Tony Romm. The social media app’s parent company is still threatened by Trump’s 75-day delayed enforcement of the law requiring it either sell the platform’s U.S. operations or be effectively banned. The new deadline arrives on April 5. (Busy week next week!)

MEANWHILE IN EUROPE: It’s not just the prospect of a trade war which has sent Europeans scrambling. The threat from Vladimir Putin also looms large, and the noises from Team Trump of U.S. military withdrawal have forced the continent to start planning for a post-NATO future. French President Emmanuel Macron will host more than 30 leaders in Paris today, my Brussels Playbook colleague Suzanne Lynch reports, in the latest bid to bolster European defense capabilities and prepare for a post-ceasefire scenario in Ukraine.

Who’s going to be there? Leaders representing the entire NATO alliance … apart from America. Welcome to the future.

And up north in Greenland … Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has praised the people of the island for standing firm after a planned PR blitz by U.S. top brass was scaled back. A proposed three-day “cultural visit” by Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha — dog-sleds and all — has been abandoned in the face of expected fierce resistance from the locals. The Vances will now travel together for a one-day visit tomorrow to a sealed-off military base.

A message from the National Retail Federation:

Trade policy impacts businesses and consumers. Register to learn more.

MEANWHILE ON THE HILL

WHERE SCHUMER’S AT: Democrats remain deeply divided over how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer handled the government shutdown — but the cries for a change in leadership have died down. “Many in the party are conceding that they're stuck with him for the time being,” POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein and colleagues report this morning. With no clear alternative and a challenging midterm election cycle ahead, Dem lawmakers are falling back in line — and “some frustrated Democratic donors have made the same calculation,” the team writes.

EASTER RISING: The clock is ticking as Republican leaders on Capitol Hill scramble to get Trump’s agenda through the reconciliation process before Easter recess. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are now moving forward while punting several key sticking points to a later date, “including potentially huge cuts to Medicaid,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and colleagues report.

I KNOW WHAT YOU’LL DO THIS SUMMER: The House GOP is hoping the Congressional Budget Office’s latest forecast about the nation’s debt cliff will “light a fire” under their Senate colleagues, Meredith reports: “The so-called X-date could coincide with the monthlong August recess, providing lawmakers a hard stop for reaching a compromise and sending their bill to the president’s desk.”

LOAD OF BANKERS: Plenty of interest in the finance world at today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing for Trump’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins. The session should finally offer Wall Street a window into how he plans to lead the powerful regulator. He’s due up at 10 a.m.

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BEST OF THE REST

BIG BALLS TV: Elon Musk and members of his DOGE team will appear on Fox News’ "Special Report" tonight for an interview with Bret Baier, Axios’ Stef Kight reports. The 6 p.m. broadcast will be the first time DOGE staff have been interviewed since launching their slash-and-burn campaign against the federal government.

POD SAVE AMERICA? Trump will host a gaggle of podcasters at the White House today, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports. Also on Trump’s schedule — an EO signing session at 2 p.m. and the White House Iftar Dinner at 8 p.m. He also receives his weekly intelligence briefing at 11 a.m. … Don’t forget to check your Signal in case you get looped in.

PAGING STEPHEN MILLER: A panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 yesterday that Trump may not resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, maintaining the decision of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, POLITICO’s Hassan Ali Kanu reports. Trump has tried to use the 18th century wartime power to deport undocumented immigrants without due process.

The rationale: Judge Karen Henderson — a President George H.W. Bush appointee — found the act was not being used appropriately: “An invasion is a military affair, not one of migration.” Judge Patricia Millett, an appointee of Barack Obama, joined with Henderson in maintaining Boasberg’s order. Read the full decision. We may now see the Trump administration appeal to the Supreme Court, POLITICO’s legal ace Kyle Cheney texts Playbook to say.

TURF WAR: Agriculture Department officials are pushing back against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid to impose restrictions on the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Marcia Brown scoop this morning. While Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ aides “agree with Kennedy that federal aid should not be supporting a product they blame for driving obesity … they have questioned the feasibility of Kennedy’s rapid approach and bristled at his encroachment into their territory.”

THEY’RE RUNNING! (MAYBE): Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) has told colleagues he’s running to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire, Axios’ Hans Nichols and Andrew Solender report. Freshman Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H) is also considering a run. … And former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred is “seriously considering” launching a Senate bid against long-time incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in 2026, The Dallas Morning News’ Gromer Jeffers Jr. reports.

TALK OF THE TOWN

ONE FOR THE PHOTO ALBUM: An unruly toddler slipped through the White House gates yesterday and ran around the north lawn … before being picked up by the Secret Service and reunited with his parents. What a rush. (h/t Tyler Smith)

FAREWELL: Rita Braver will retire from “CBS News Sunday Morning” at the end of this month, the network announced yesterday.

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Puck and the Embassy of France’s third annual First Amendment event last night at the French Ambassador Laurent Bili’s residence:

British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne-Nason, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Norah O’Donnell, Jake Tapper, John Harris, David Chalian, Robert Costa, Alex Marquardt, Phil Rucker, Sumi Somaskanda, Josh Dawsey, Jake Denton, Alex Flemister, Elizabeth Falcone, Reema Dodin, Kasie Hunt, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Dasha Burns, Kara Voght, Mitchell Rivard, Govind Shivkumar, Dmitri Alperovitch, Jessica Dean, Alex Katz, Michael Falcone, Jim Acosta, Neil Grace, Michelle Jaconi, Francesca Chambers, Jon Kelly, Liz Gough, Sarah Personette, Leigh Ann Caldwell, John Heilemann, Julia Ioffe, Abby Livingston and Peter Hamby.

— SPOTTED Tuesday night at Forward Global’s “Spring Thing” at Pearl Street Warehouse’s Union Stage: Bobby Kennedy III and Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, Raj Patel, Jack Mantua, Jess Malanga, Rebecca Karabus, Miles Johnson, Darcie Johnston, John Mason Long, Ryan Lambert, Joe Lockhart, Tara Palmeri, Andrea Yang, Sean Spicer, Roma Daravi, John Santucci, Will Steakin, Ambassador Georg Sparber, Nicholas Johnston, Matt Mowers, Doug Davenport, Pete Snyder, Meridith McGraw, Jesse Spiro, Noah Gray, Kristen Holmes, Wyatt Toehlke, Johnny Destefano, Margie Sullivan, Meg Kinnard, Ashley Mocarski and Tony Abboud with Joe Crowley on guitar alongside Andrew Deerin and His Big Band.

— Women Business Collaborative hosted industry leaders for “From Policy to Practice: Driving Innovation in Trade & Business,” a panel discussion and reception exploring emerging trends in international trade featuring opening remarks from Kathleen Buhle, founder and CEO of The House at 1229, and a panel moderated by Gwen Young with insights from distinguished trade experts Laura Dawson and Tiffany Smith, with Elizabeth Birch and Caroline Croft.

— The North American Blueberry Council hosted a “Red, White, and Blueberry” reception last night with over 150 people in the House Agriculture Committee Room, featuring a blueberry themed menu. SPOTTED: Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C), Justin Benavidez, Bennett Abrams, Alexa Fox, Clark Ogilvie, Bubba White, Morgan Orem, Kasey Cronquist, Alyssa Houtby, Mike Glymph, Kaycie Goral and Carlye Winfrey.

— SPOTTED on Tuesday night at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in NYC for a book party hosted by Mike Bloomberg celebrating Graydon Carter’s new book “When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines” ($32): Diane Sawyer, Candice Bergen, Kevin Sheekey, Patti Harris, Jon Kelly, Bill Cohan, Susan Morrison, Ken Auletta, Zenia Mucha, Kurt Anderson, Martha Stewart, Jim Kelly, Alex Isley, Tammy Haddad, Sarah Ellison, Michael Grynbaum, Charlotte Klein, Nathaniel Brown, Tony Danza, Maureen Orth, George Hahn, Christine Baranski, Beth Kseniak and Sara Marks.

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TRANSITIONS — Mike Schmuhl is launching a consulting firm, Velo Strategies. He previously was chair for the Indiana Democratic party and is a Pete Buttigieg campaign alum. … Cliff Naylor is joining Message Digital as executive director of partnerships. He previously was chief digital fundraising officer for the DSCC. … Ceren Canal Aruoba is now a managing director and co-lead of BRG’s consumer protection, product liability and environment practice. She previously was a principal at Cornerstone Research. …

… Jo Jensen is now SVP of digital and entertainment strategy at Touchdown Strategies. She currently is the founder of MovieGoer. … Erin Prest is now a partner at McCarter & English’s cybersecurity practice. She previously was privacy and civil liberties officer and deputy general counsel at the FBI. … Aliza Malouf is now a partner at Greenspoon Marder LLP. She previously was a partner at Akerman LLP.

WEDDING — William McWhorter, chair for the Republican Party of Gregg County, Texas, and Olivia Hill, branch manager for Visiting Angels and owner of Platinum Design, recently married at The Videre Estate outside Wimberley, Texas. The wedding featured a live Longhorn and the couple celebrated at Universal and Disney World in Orlando, and a trip to D.C. for Trump's inauguration.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly … Steve Atkiss … Rob Nabors … Natalie (Buchanan) Joyce of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation … Niki Christoff … Rachel Semmel of OMB … NBC/MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff … Lisa Zhang … Liz Johnson of the Emerson Collective… Billy Moore … The 19th’s Shefali Luthra … Alberto Martinez of Continental Strategy… David Mitrani … Juan Hinojosa of American Airlines … Whitney Smith of Rolls-Royce Defense North America … The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Stephanie Beasley … Lauren Dikis … Katie Johnson of Jenner & Block … Lane Bailey of the Advocom Group … Laura Driscoll … Edelman’s Erin Schwille … Roll Call’s John Donnelly … Sally Kohn … Mara Vandlik … James Park of House Judiciary … Jonathan Beam … POLITICO’s Julia Holland … plus some guy called Jack Blanchard … former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) … Alex Aragon of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office … Mike Andrews … National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow … Brad Rateike (43)… Frank Sadler … Toni DeWitt … Jocelynne Simbana of Dewey Square Group … Iain Hart

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A message from the National Retail Federation:

The administration's trade policy announcements are creating high levels of uncertainty and are affecting consumer confidence and the affordability of everyday goods. The White House is expected to announce new reciprocal tariffs on our nation's trading partners that will impact retail business operations, employees and consumers. Retailers source domestically whenever possible, but most rely on a mix of domestic and imported products and manufacturing components so they can offer customers a variety of items at affordable prices. Small businesses buy and sell imported products to meet the demands of their customers, and higher prices on imported goods will unfairly burden American families, workers and Main Street businesses. We need pro-growth trade policies that support businesses and consumers. Learn more.