The State Department has released records showing that multiple high-ranking Trump administration officials used the encrypted messaging app Signal for official government business during the first half of 2025.
The disclosures, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the Democracy Forward Foundation, revealed 13 previously unreported group chats involving Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
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Several of these private channels had automatic message deletion settings, prompting legal groups to flag potential violations of federal record-preservation laws.
The records indicate that administration staff continued using the platform even after intense public scrutiny over the secure software, following an accidental leak of military plans to a media outlet.
President Donald Trump had earlier expressed skepticism about the app. "I think we learned: Maybe don't use Signal, okay?"
Trump told Jeffrey Goldberg and others in the Oval Office on April 24, more than a month after the initial leak.
"If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal," Trump added.
Despite the warning, records from Secretary Rubio's phone showed active chats continued with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Hegseth in a group chat set to delete messages after eight hours.
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A spokesperson for Caine clarified that the chairman uses Signal for administrative and coordinating matters within Defense Department guidelines, and does not share classified information via the app.
Legal advocacy groups have pushed for accountability.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, wrote to the National Archives and Records Administration, calling the digital threads "likely violations" of the Federal Records Act.
"Given that numerous agency heads are personally implicated in these likely FRA violations, your action to initiate an enforcement action is critical," Perryman added.
The White House pushed back, stating that Signal is an approved app pre-loaded on government phones.
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"Senior officials always responsibly handle classified information," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, criticizing media outlets for their handling of sensitive intelligence.
