The past 24 hours have been a vivid example of why scandal so rarely sticks to President Trump, Axios' Marc Caputo writes.

• "We can easily handle what would kill any other administration. This will blow over," a top adviser boasted to Axios shortly after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief revealed that he'd been added to a text thread of highly sensitive military planning.

🎤 Between the lines: Trump himself made clear during an impromptu press conference today that there will be no consequences for what was, on the merits, a colossal operational security blunder.

• He answered every question. He stood by his team and gave no ground to critics. He refused to say anyone would be fired — and said National Security Adviser Mike Waltz doesn't even need to apologize.
• There was applause at the end of Trump's press availability, a sign of palpable relief from the secretaries and staff.

⌨️ MAGA media also quickly closed ranks, Axios' Tal Axelrod notes. That powerful cavalry is a big part of how the White House can put itself on the counterattack under almost any circumstances.

• "The Atlantic's 'War Plan' Leak Story 'Exposes' Team Trump as Thoughtful, Competent, and Ruthless," read one headline from The National Pulse.
• "They want an impeachment. They think that they can pick off a Cabinet member here, and they think that this scandal gives them the ability to be able to do this," Jack Posobiec, a prominent podcaster, said on Steve Bannon's "War Room."
• He also said, "You got to be more careful" and noted Republicans' furor over Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server during her time as secretary of state.

💬 "In 48 hours, no one will care about any of this," one Trump adviser said. "It's a faux media event. Nothing really to nip in the bud. No one will lose their job over it. I'm willing to bet they don't use Signal in the future."

The Atlantic story detailing the security lapse has quickly become the top news story of the year worldwide, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes from new data tracking social media engagement.

• A spokesperson for The Atlantic said it was "one of the top subscription driving stories" for the magazine of all time.

1. 📺 Elon Musk and members of his DOGE team will give an exclusive interview to Fox News host Bret Baier, Axios' Stef Kight scoops. It'll air in the 6pm hour on Thursday.
2. 🗳️ Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who chairs Senate Republicans' campaign arm, said at the Axios What's Next summit that his goal is to expand Republicans' Senate majority by two seats in the 2026 midterms. Go deeper.
3. ⚜️ Former U.S. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana — a moderate Democrat who for 24 years steadfastly defended the state's oil and gas interests, and worked in a bipartisan fashion to win congressional funding for infrastructure projects — died at 92 in Arlington, Va. (The Advocate of Baton Rouge)

D.C. will be the next stop for Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service, Axios D.C.'s Mimi Montgomery reports.

• D.C. allows autonomous vehicle companies to test their fleets in the city, but it currently doesn't allow those vehicles to be operated without a driver
• Waymo began testing its cars with drivers behind the wheel in D.C. last year, and will spend the next year working with city officials to "formalize the regulatory framework needed to serve riders" sans-driver, a company spokesperson tells Axios.

🛞 The service is available now in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, with Miami and Atlanta also in the works.