JD Vance's role in Signal chat angers senior Republican lawmakers
Some think Vance tried to block an order from Trump. Others feel he is on the wrong side of a rift between MAGA and GOP internationalists.
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance’s last-minute concerns about President Donald Trump’s decision to strike the Houthis in Yemen, raised in a now-public Signal chat with other top U.S. officials, have left senior Republican lawmakers angry.
Some are upset because they think Vance was trying to block a directive from Trump. Others, reflecting a broader debate inside the administration and the GOP over the wisdom of embarking on a stepped-up campaign against the militant group, are upset about the side he took.
Trump has campaigned and governed on the idea that America should be put first and its traditional allies and conflicts overseas second. But his administration is now making moves that reflect the potential for a protracted military campaign against the Houthis.
Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 21.Francis Chung / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesObservers say the debate over the Yemen strikes is the difference between MAGA world, which tends to be against helping the Europeans while focusing on Asia, and garden-variety Republicans, who think the U.S. should not abandon issues in the Middle East.
The Pentagon has moved an additional aircraft carrier and its attendant ships into the region, joining the USS Harry Truman carrier strike group already there. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized at least two Patriot missile defense batteries from Asia to be moved to the Middle East, two U.S. officials and one defense official told NBC News.
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