The White House considers the Signal group chat leak case ‘closed,’ Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media Monday while reiterating President Donald Trump’s support of national security advisor Mike Waltz.

‘As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,’ Leavitt told the media in brief remarks during a gaggle outside of the White House’s press room Monday afternoon. ‘And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.’ 

‘There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again,’ she continued. ‘And we’re moving forward. And the president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well, if you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team.’ 

The Trump administration came under scrutiny from Democrats and other critics after the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published March 24 that he was added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. 

Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. 

The Atlantic’s report characterized the Trump administration as texting ‘war plans’ regarding a planned strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Trump administration has maintained, however, that no classified material was transmitted in the chat, with Trump repeatedly defending Waltz amid the fallout. 

Waltz took responsibility for the journalist’s inclusion in the high-profile group chat, including in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. 

‘I built the group. My job is to make sure everything’s coordinated,’ Waltz said on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

‘Of course I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else,’ Waltz added. ‘The person I thought was on there was never on there.’

Leavitt told the media Wednesday that the administration was investigating the incident, explaining Elon Musk’s team was also assisting with the investigation. 

‘The National Security Council, the White House Counsel’s Office, and also, yes, Elon Musk’s team’ will be leading the investigation into the Signal leak, Leavitt said during a White House press briefing. 

‘Elon Musk has offered to put his technical experts on this, to figure out how this number was inadvertently added to the chat – again, to take responsibility and ensure this can never happen again,’ she continued. 

Trump slammed the media’s coverage of the group chat in a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, calling it the ‘never ending Signal story.’

‘They just don’t stop – Over and over they go! Meet the Fake Press should instead explain how successful the attack was, and how Sleepy Joe Biden should have done it YEARS AGO,’ he posted. 

‘This story and narrative is so old and boring, but only used because we are having the most successful ‘First One Hundred Presidential Days’ in the history of America, and they can’t find anything else to talk about. The Fake News Media has the lowest Approval Ratings in history, and for good reason. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’

Furious comments issued by President Donald Trump over the weekend prompted a swift and aggressive response from Iran, while Russian President Vladimir Putin remains tight-lipped in the face of the U.S. leader’s ire.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a warning on Monday and said it would respond ‘decisively and immediately’ to any threat issued by the U.S. after Trump said there ‘will be bombing’ and likely more tariffs if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal with Washington. 

‘The enmity from the U.S. and Israel has always been there. They threaten to attack us, which we don’t think is very probable, but if they commit any mischief, they will surely receive a strong reciprocal blow,’ Khamenei said according to a Reuters report.

‘And if they are thinking of causing sedition inside the country as in past years, the Iranian people themselves will deal with them,’ he added.

Despite Iran’s refusal and warning directed at both the U.S. and Israel, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Khamenei’s comments are an attempt to ‘buy time’ while balancing growing external and internal pressures on his regime.

‘At once, Khamenei sought to both downplay the chances of President Trump or Israel taking military action while also looking to deter such an eventuality due to the regime’s own policies,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘This is a tightrope Khamenei will increasingly be forced to walk as he plays for time and engages in nuclear escalation.

‘U.S. policy should be to keep Khamenei off balance,’ he added.

While Iran takes an offensive stance against Trump and his ambitions to finally bring Tehran to heel on its nuclear expansion, Russia is taking a different approach as it refuses to bow to Trump’s plans to see an end to the war in Ukraine. 

Over the weekend, Trump said he was ‘pissed off’ over comments made by Putin on Friday when he suggested the work Washington was doing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia and Ukraine was moot because he believes the government in Kyiv to be illegitimate and therefore cannot sign any deals. 

‘If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault … I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,’ Trump said, noting that tariffs could be as high as 50%. 

The president later said his ire could ‘dissipate quickly’ if Putin ‘does the right thing,’ and once again noted he has ‘a very good relationship with [Putin].’

However, the Kremlin chief, who reportedly has another call scheduled with Trump this week, has not responded to Trump’s heated comments.

The chief spokesman for Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that Russia will continue to work on ‘restoring’ relations with Washington that he said were ‘damaged by the Biden administration’ following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and noted that Putin remains in ‘open contact’ with Trump.

However, Putin’s lack of public response and the toned-down statements from the Kremlin are all part of Putin’s broader strategy, former DIA intelligence officer and Russia expert, Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital.

‘Putin, like Trump, thrives on confrontation,’ Koffler said. ‘Except his approach is different. The Kremlin deliberately is projecting that Putin is cool, calm, and collected now, which he is. 

‘The fact that President Trump reportedly got mad and used those words means to Putin that he finally got to him, the way he got to Biden, Obama, and others who called him a killer and other derogatory words,’ she continued. 

‘Putin now feels that not only Russia has an upper hand on the battlefield over Ukraine and in terms of total combat potential over NATO, but he also was able to unbalance Trump,’ Koffler explained. ‘That is the whole point – it’s a judo move.’ 

President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday, to showcase the speed at which he’s acted during the first two and a half months of his second administration.

‘107 executive orders signed in 67 days, more than any in American history,’ the president wrote in a social media post.

Trump has been expanding the powers of the presidency, as he has upended long-standing government policy and made major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of executive orders and actions. 

While Trump repeatedly touts his performance steering the nation, the latest public opinion polling suggests Americans may not be so pleased with the job he’s doing as president.

Trump stands at 42% approval and 56% disapproval in an AP/NORC released on Monday that questioned adults nationwide March 20-24.

That’s slightly lower than a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 21-23, which indicated the president at 45%-51% approval/disapproval.

Trump’s numbers were slightly higher in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was in the field March 14-17. Americans appeared divided on the job the president was doing, with 49% approval and 51% disapproval.

An average of all the most recent national polls that asked the presidential approval question indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are slightly in negative territory. Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since the start of his second term, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid-40s.

Contributing to the slide, the economy and jitters that Trump’s tariffs on America’s top trading partners will spark further inflation, which was a pressing issue that kept former President Joe Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.

Only 40% of those questioned in the AP/NORC poll gave the president a thumbs up on the job he’s doing steering the economy, with 58% saying they disapprove.

And Trump stood at 38% approval and 60% disapproval on how he’s handling trade negotiations with other countries. A slew of Trump’s proposed tariffs are expected to go into effect on Tuesday.

Inflation was arguably the top issue that boosted Trump to victory in last November’s presidential election, and it remains critical to his political fortunes.

‘If prices remain high, he’s going to have trouble,’ warned Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News poll.

But the AP/NORC does have some good news for the president. It’s the latest survey to indicate an increase in the percentage of Americans who are optimistic about the direction of the country.

Thirty-eight percent of those questioned said the country’s headed in the right direction, up from 28% in January at the end of Biden’s term in the White House. The jump is mostly fueled by a 34% surge in Republicans saying the country’s headed on the right track.

According to the poll, Trump’s favorable rating is underwater at 42%-54% favorable/unfavorable.

As with his approval rating, there’s a massive but expected partisan divide.

But Trump’s favorable ratings are superior to Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and Tesla and Space X chief executive, and White House advisor whose controversial moves downsizing the federal government as he steers the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have grabbed tons of attention.

According to the poll, Musk’s favorable rating stands at 36%, with 55% seeing him in an unfavorable light.

There are 35 U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2026, with at least four battleground states expected to decide the balance of power – and whether Republicans maintain control of all three branches of government during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term. 

In 2025, Republicans control the Senate 53-47, including two independent senators who caucus with the Democrats. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Jon Husted, John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy could all face fierce fights to maintain their U.S. Senate seats next year. 

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced in January that Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., will chair the DSCC with Sens. Mark Kelly, Adam Schiff and Lisa Blunt Rochester as vice chairs during the 2026 election cycle. The DSCC has not yet announced their target races for next year. 

‘Democrats have a Senate map that is ripe with offensive opportunities, particularly when coupled with the building midterm backlash against Republicans. Republicans have more seats to defend, and they’re doing it in a hostile political environment,’ DSCC Spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

As the party in power tends to struggle more during the midterm elections, Democrats are already identifying ‘offensive opportunities’ to regain Republican Senate seats. 

‘I am confident that we will protect our Democratic seats, mount strong challenges in our battleground races, and look to expand our efforts into some unexpected states. Over the course of my career, I’ve won in red and purple places, and I look forward to helping the next generation of Senate candidates do the same,’ Gillibrand said when she was named DSCC chair. 

North Carolina

Sen. Thom Tillis was censured by the North Carolina Republican Party in 2023 for reportedly veering from Republican ideology on gun control policies, LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights. 

Tillis is considered a moderate Republican for his commitment to Ukraine funding, support for gun control legislation that expanded background checks and implemented red flag laws, voting to codify same-sex marriage and supporting legal pathways for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. 

The bipartisan senator was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020. He went against his more conservative colleagues by voting to certify former President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020. 

Tillis has fallen in line with Republicans in 2025 by voting to confirm Trump’s cabinet nominees, even as some expressed concern over his more controversial picks. However, that does not mean Tillis has been able to escape the ire of Trump’s orbit. 

‘Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina. We’re going to need a new senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to Schumer,’ a political advisor to Donald Trump Jr., Arthur Schwartz, said on X earlier this month. 

The Cook Political Report, a top nonpartisan political handicapper, rated Tillis’ 2026 re-election bid as ‘lean Republican.’ 

Maine

Maine has long been a political outlier as one of only two states to split its electoral votes for the presidential election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won Maine in 2024, but Trump still secured one electoral vote for winning Congressional District 2. 

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is considered another moderate Republican – which could serve her once again in the politically split state. 

Collins voted against the Senate confirmations of Trump’s nominees for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel. She has not shied away from criticizing Trump either, slamming his Jan. 6 pardons and proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health grants. 

Collins has been a U.S. senator since 1996, surviving many primary and general election challenges from both sides of the political aisle. She became the first Republican woman to win a fifth term in the Senate in 2020. 

She is already facing two 2026 challengers – Democrat Natasha Alcala and Independent Phillip Rench. Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who sparred with Trump over transgender athletes playing in women’s sports, has not ruled out a run for Collins’ Senate seat. 

 The Cook Political Report also rated Collins’ race ‘lean Republican.’

Ohio

Ohio’s Republican Sen. Jon Husted finds himself in a unique position heading into the 2026 midterms. He was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Jan. 17, 2025 to fill the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance. 

Husted is Ohio’s former lieutenant governor. He also served as Ohio’s secretary of state and as a state legislator. 

Because Husted was not elected U.S. senator, he will need to campaign in 2026 for the special election. If he wins, Husted will retain his seat and complete the remainder of Vance’s term – through 2029. 

Rumors swirled that DeWine could choose Trump-ally Vivek Ramaswamy to replace Vance this year, but the moderate Republican governor ultimately chose his politically similar ally. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has launched his own bid for Ohio governor. 

The race is rated ‘likely Republican’ by The Cook Political Report.

Texas

Sen. John Cornyn has been the senator for Texas since 2002. While Cornyn is solidly conservative and has supported Trump, he has expressed private disagreement with the president on issues such as budget deficits and border security.

Cornyn is already gearing up for tough potential primary challenges from Trump-ally Rep. Wesley Hunt and conservative Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

Both Hunt and Paxton have not formally announced campaigns to primary the long-time Texas senator, but both candidates would set up a competitive race for Cornyn to keep his seat. 

The race is ranked ‘solid Republican’ by The Cook Political Report with some GOP infighting expected if Hunt or Paxton announce Senate campaigns. 

Louisiana

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is also expected to face a tough primary challenge in 2026. John Fleming, the Louisiana state treasurer and former representative, has declared a Senate bid.

Rep. Clay Higgins, who was also expected to challenge Cassidy, announced on Thursday that he will not pursue a Senate campaign in 2026. 

Cassidy voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial, alienating him from the Trump-loyalists of the party. 

The former physician raised concerns over Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during his confirmation hearing. While he ultimately voted to confirm Kennedy, Cassidy questioned Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism as it conflicted with his own medical background.  

Cassidy has served in the Senate since 2015, after starting his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate. 

While Republicans work to maintain incumbent Senate seats, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has identified four battleground states in 2026 as opportunities to pick up seats and widen their slim majority in the U.S. Senate. 

‘Every battleground state — Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and Minnesota – is in play, and we play to win,’ NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement to Fox News Digital last week. 

The Trump administration is breaking all modern presidential staffing records since taking office in January, bringing in ‘thousands of America First warriors’ to fight for President Donald Trump’s agenda, the head of presidential personnel told Fox News Digital. 

‘My Administration is breaking all modern Presidential Staffing Records since taking Office on January 20th,’ Trump posted Friday on his Truth Social. ‘The Presidential Personnel Office has made over 2,200 offers, all accepted, to exceptionally qualified Candidates, who are helping us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.’ 

Trump added, ‘We have sent more Nominations to the Senate than anyone ever before, and will continue to hire America First Patriots as we work together to unleash our Nation’s, Golden Age!’ 

The Trump administration has sent more nominations to the Senate by Trump’s 65th day in office, 277 and counting, than the previous record-holder, former President Barack Obama, sent by his 150th day in office, Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, told Fox News Digital. 

Trump officials have made more than 2,300 offers to ‘exceptionally qualified and aligned candidates across the Trump administration,’ Gor said. 

Gor also said 1,800 appointees are already at work — and almost every agency is more than half-filled, with many over two-thirds full. 

‘Every day we are focused on finding thousands of America First warriors to join this administration and fight for the agenda President Trump ran and won on,’ Gor told Fox News Digital. ‘We have made incredible, record-breaking progress by not only hiring the right people, but also keeping the Washington Swamp out of this administration.’ 

Gor added, ‘With President Trump’s historic leadership, this is the team that will usher in the new Golden Age of America.’

Trump’s Cabinet was confirmed in record time, with officials noting that none of his Cabinet-level nominees failed in committee or on the Senate floor for confirmation. 

On day 67 of the Trump administration, 41 total Trump nominees have been confirmed, including 21 of the 22 Cabinet level positions and 20 sub-Cabinet positions. By comparison, on the 67th day of the Biden administration, 13 Cabinet-level nominees had been confirmed.

By Friday, March 28, a total of 238 Trump administration nominations had been sent to the Senate. By March 28, 2021, 150 Biden nominees had been sent to the Senate for confirmation. 

Officials say that they have not only maximized the speed of their personnel selection process, but are also recruiting ‘the most talented bench of nominees in Republican presidential history.’  

The record-breaking hiring comes while the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is also shrinking the size of the federal workforce, to slash government spending and eliminate bureaucrats working against the Trump agenda. 

Earlier in March, the president directed his Cabinet secretaries to work with DOGE and to use a ‘scalpel’ when deciding which workers will remain in their jobs.

‘As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go. We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet,” Trump posted on Truth Social in early March. 

However, the Trump administration is touting the ‘incredible America First slate of candidates’ that have been confirmed to their posts, pointing specifically to FBI Director Kash Patel, who officials say is a ‘fierce advocate for American law enforcement and a critic of Washington corruption,’ border czar Tom Homan, whom officials call ‘the most respected immigration law enforcement official in modern history’ and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, whom officials call a ‘widely respected physician and healthcare reformer.’ 

‘Just as important as hiring the right people is keeping the wrong people out of this administration,’ a personnel official told Fox News Digital. ‘With the mandate President Trump has given this Presidential Personnel Office we are only hiring aligned and capable supporters of the president and his agenda in these critical roles.’