The White House has declared the controversy around a Signal chat for a military strike that inadvertently included a journalist to be “closed,” but the episode has left some in President Trump’s orbit distrustful of national security adviser Mike Waltz.

White House officials are eager to move past the controversy, in which Waltz mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, to a group of administration officials discussing planned strikes against the Houthis. The White House has offered no specifics on any discipline handed down or protocol changes to avoid future mishaps.

“The case is closed and the president continues to have confidence in his national security adviser,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.

Despite Leavitt’s words, the controversy may linger as lawmakers ask questions about the Signal chat. Senate Democrats held a press conference to spotlight the issue Tuesday.

Trump has been annoyed by the saga, according to sources close to the White House, and with Waltz in particular, given he was the one who created the chat that included Goldberg.

The president has publicly praised Waltz as a “good man,” and Trump is loath to be seen as giving in to what he views as calls from the media and Democrats to fire someone, sources close to the White House said.

Ousting a national security adviser so early into his second term would curry unflattering comparisons to his first term, when Trump........

© The Hill