Group chat report indicates Vance split from Trump administration on Houthi airstrikes
According to a revealing article by The Atlantic, the vice president expressed concerns to a group chat with key administration officials, stating, “I think we are making a mistake.”
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A foreign policy disagreement among members of President Donald Trump's administration and Vice President JD Vance became public on Monday, with Vance criticizing the timing of a recent military operation in Yemen as “a mistake.”
The private conflict came to light in a revealing report from The Atlantic, where editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg accidentally joined an encrypted group chat of high-level Trump administration officials discussing airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen.
This incident represents the first reported clash between Vance and other top officials since Trump took office, particularly concerning Vance's isolationist approach towards Europe.
“I think we are making a mistake,” Vance communicated in the group chat, which included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. It seems that Trump himself was not part of this chat.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance further expressed. He cautioned, “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.”
Vance sent his message on March 14, the day before Trump revealed that he had authorized a series of “decisive and powerful” airstrikes against the Houthis, an Iran-backed group designated as terrorists by the U.S. that has been attacking commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea for two years. Just two days prior, Trump had announced 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, provoking a swift retaliation from the European Union that pushed the allies towards a trade conflict.
Approximately 30 minutes after sending his message, Vance told Hegseth, “if you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
“I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC,” responded Hegseth. Nevertheless, he concluded, “I think we should go.”
In a statement to PMG, Will Martin, Vance’s communications director, reiterated Vance's position, confirming that he “unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy.”
“The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations,” Martin added, stating that Vance and Trump “had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
Vance has positioned himself as a principal critic of Europe within the administration, advocating for the GOP stance that the U.S. does not need to continue its support for Ukraine. Last month, he shocked the European political landscape during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he reproached the continent for having lost sight of its core values.
Other officials in the group chat shared Vance’s reluctance to assist Europe, which is significantly more impacted by Houthi threats to shipping routes than the U.S. Waltz noted that he was collaborating with the Pentagon and State Department “to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.” Additionally, an individual identified as “S M”—likely White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller—mentioned the need to “make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return.”
On the morning of March 15, Hegseth outlined the planned strikes in the group chat, which Trump announced on Truth Social approximately three hours later.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance concluded.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
The private conflict came to light in a revealing report from The Atlantic, where editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg accidentally joined an encrypted group chat of high-level Trump administration officials discussing airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen.
This incident represents the first reported clash between Vance and other top officials since Trump took office, particularly concerning Vance's isolationist approach towards Europe.
“I think we are making a mistake,” Vance communicated in the group chat, which included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. It seems that Trump himself was not part of this chat.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance further expressed. He cautioned, “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.”
Vance sent his message on March 14, the day before Trump revealed that he had authorized a series of “decisive and powerful” airstrikes against the Houthis, an Iran-backed group designated as terrorists by the U.S. that has been attacking commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea for two years. Just two days prior, Trump had announced 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, provoking a swift retaliation from the European Union that pushed the allies towards a trade conflict.
Approximately 30 minutes after sending his message, Vance told Hegseth, “if you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
“I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC,” responded Hegseth. Nevertheless, he concluded, “I think we should go.”
In a statement to PMG, Will Martin, Vance’s communications director, reiterated Vance's position, confirming that he “unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy.”
“The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations,” Martin added, stating that Vance and Trump “had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
Vance has positioned himself as a principal critic of Europe within the administration, advocating for the GOP stance that the U.S. does not need to continue its support for Ukraine. Last month, he shocked the European political landscape during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he reproached the continent for having lost sight of its core values.
Other officials in the group chat shared Vance’s reluctance to assist Europe, which is significantly more impacted by Houthi threats to shipping routes than the U.S. Waltz noted that he was collaborating with the Pentagon and State Department “to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.” Additionally, an individual identified as “S M”—likely White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller—mentioned the need to “make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return.”
On the morning of March 15, Hegseth outlined the planned strikes in the group chat, which Trump announced on Truth Social approximately three hours later.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance concluded.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
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