WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will nominate his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also act as Waltz’s replacement until a new national security adviser is named, Trump said on his Truth Social app Thursday.
“As my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” Trump said.
The post of UN ambassador requires Senate confirmation. The position has been left open since Trump asked his original nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), to withdraw her nomination to ensure Republicans kept their narrow majority in the House.
Trump’s announcement is the first major staffing shakeup of his second term. It comes hours after various news outlets reported that Waltz was expected to leave the administration weeks after it was revealed that he accidentally added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a private Signal chat where military strikes against Yemen’s Houthis were discussed among senior US officials.
Trump stood by Waltz in the immediate aftermath of what became known as Signalgate, calling him a “very good man” who “learned a lesson.”
The former three-term Republican congressman from east central Florida also served as senior Pentagon policy official under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. Waltz is also a military veteran.
He and his deputy, Alex Wong, are said to have been targets of right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who successfully pushed for Trump to fire National Security Council officials perceived as disloyal to his agenda last month. On Thursday morning, Loomer wrote “SCALP” in response to her earlier X post that called for Wong to be sacked.
This developing story has been updated.
#Trump #taps #Mike #Waltz #ambassador
