United States President Donald Trump on Thursday removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser (NSA), a key policy-shaping role, and tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take over the role in the interim.
Trump announced that he was nominating Waltz to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations. “Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
“I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation,” Waltz posted on X Thursday.
The senior official’s reassignment comes in the aftermath of the so-called “Signalgate” incident and his leaning towards aggressive military action against arch foe Iran.
What were the main reasons behind Waltz’s removal?
The army veteran came under heavy criticism after creating a group on the Signal messaging app with other top officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to discuss military attack plans on Yemen.
The group’s chat became public after the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the group mistakenly. After Goldberg published extracts from the chat, Waltz said he took “full responsibility” for the mistake.
The scandal cast a doubt on Trump’s national security team, with both Waltz and Hegseth coming under fire. Several Democrats called for their resignation in the immediate aftermath of the scandal.
While attending a cabinet meeting held by Trump last week, Waltz was also photographed using a modified and less secure version of Signal to text top officials.
According to The Washington Post, he also upset Trump after engaging in “intense coordination” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the possibility of launching military strikes on Iran.
As the Trump administration continues to pursue Omani-mediated talks with Tehran, Waltz reportedly frustrated the president by adopting an increasingly hawkish stance that favoured military aggression.
Netanyahu’s office, however, denied the daily’s report that claimed he had “intensive contact” with Waltz.
Moreover, he was reported to have built up tensions with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who increasingly felt he was not fit for the Trump team.
Who else is Trump sacking?
Along with Waltz, the president is kicking out his deputy, Alex Wong, according to US media reports, becoming the first senior White House officials to be fired from the second Trump presidency.
A number of inspectors general, federal workers, and senior military officials, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command General James Slife, have also been fired.
During his first term, Trump sacked a large number of senior officials, including FBI Director James Comey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, and NSAs John Bolton and Michael Flynn.
Why are MAGA supporters targeting Waltz?
Waltz has come under fire from some recognised figures in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) camp backing Trump, mainly for a perceived lack of loyalty to the president and a difference in policy approach.
Steve Bannon, a former chief White House strategist and influential figure, criticised Waltz for his hawkish foreign policy stance, particularly his support for military interventions.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, highlighted a 2016 video in which Waltz criticised Trump’s remarks about military service members as a sign of his disloyalty.
She also accused Waltz of appointing staffers with anti-Trump sentiments and targeted his deputy, Wong, for alleged ties to Chinese interests.
But JD Vance backed him, arguing that his reassignment was not a demotion but a strategic move that would allow Waltz to better serve the administration in a new diplomatic role.
What’s next for Waltz?
Waltz will now have to secure confirmation from the Senate to become the new US envoy to the UN, in what is expected to be a challenging path.
Waltz is a former army green beret with deployments to Afghanistan that earned him a bronze star for valour. He has written extensively about military strategy and robustly supports national defence.
The Republican is also a former member of the US House of Representatives and used to work as a counterterrorism adviser in the Pentagon during the George W Bush administration.
But the Signalgate controversy, his reported unauthorised communications with Israeli leaders, and opposition by Democrats in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could work against him.
Who is Waltz’s replacement?
For now, and without any specific time period announced, Rubio is taking over as NSA.
Rubio, himself one of the more hawkish figures in the White House, is assuming more responsibility in a move that could be aimed at consolidating foreign policy leadership and streamlining the decision-making process.
This is the first time since the 1970s that the secretary of state is also acting as NSA.
Trump has not confirmed any potential replacements for Waltz in the future, but Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff and Ric Grenell are some of the top figures in his circle.
Miller is a senior policy and homeland security adviser known for his hardline immigration and foreign policy stances. Witkoff is serving as special envoy, leading the talks with Russia, Iran, and the Palestinian group Hamas. Grenell is the acting director of national intelligence and a former ambassador to Germany.
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