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Vice President JD Vance’s team sought to immediately contain the fallout over a report showing that Mr. Vance and several top national security officials had inadvertently discussed details of a military attack on Yemen in a group chat that mistakenly included the editor in chief of The Atlantic.
But Mr. Vance’s focus wasn’t on the security breach. Instead, he and his top aides seemed far more concerned with the fact that the conversation displayed a hint of his dissent with his boss.
Mr. Vance has emerged as one of President Trump’s more loyal soldiers and defenders, rarely breaking with him in public and eagerly attacking his critics.
But in the Signal chat, according to the report on it by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Mr. Vance told the other officials that he thought the timing of the Yemen operation was a “mistake.” Mr. Vance argued that European nations overwhelmingly benefited from the U.S. Navy’s efforts to protect shipping lanes from Houthi attacks, and he seemed to question if Mr. Trump understood the potential consequences of the action.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Mr. Vance said. “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.”
When others argued in favor of the strikes, Mr. Vance said he would support them but added, “I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
The highly sensitive conversation, held outside a secure government channel, provided an unfiltered glimpse into Mr. Vance’s approach to discussions with national security officials and his frustration with Europe. But the response from his team was another sign of how unwelcome policy disagreements are in an administration that prioritizes loyalty to Mr. Trump.
When it was published on Monday, The Atlantic’s article quoted William Martin, a spokesman for Vance, as saying Mr. Vance was fully aligned with Mr. Trump.
“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,” he said. “Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The president and the vice president have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
Mr. Vance’s team did not return requests for comment from The New York Times.
