White House reaffirms support of Waltz, dismisses Atlantic story as distraction

White House counselor Alina Habba on Tuesday said President Trump is standing by embattled National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and dismissed concerns about how a reporter was inadvertently included on a group chat to discuss airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen as “a distraction.”

“We stand by Mike Waltz; he’s doing a tremendous job. I think this a distraction,” she told reporters at the White House.

“Look, it is what it is. At the end of the day, this is, in my opinion, something that they’re making a big to-do about nothing. A reporter trying to get clout,” she continued.

Ms. Habba, who was just named the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, also blamed the media, which she accused of blowing the story out of proportion.

“I would love if the press, for once, would focus on the actual facts and actions of the administration. This is … frankly just noise.”

The Atlantic published the Signal group messages among national security leaders that were shared with Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. The chats came from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other high-ranking officials.

Mr. Hegseth ripped The Atlantic and Mr. Goldberg to discredit his reporting.

Mr. Trump has expressed support for Mr. Waltz, describing the incident as a “glitch.”

In a Fox News interview Tuesday night, Mr. Waltz said he takes “full responsibility” for how Mr. Goldberg ended up in the chat.