President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he’s nominating Mike Waltz as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also assume the role of national security adviser.
Mike Waltz has always placed the Nation’s interests first, whether he was in the military or in Congress. He also served as my National Security Advisor. Trump wrote, “I’m sure he’ll continue to do so in his new role.”
Waltz stated, “It is an honor to continue serving President Trump and our great nation.”
Rubio serves as secretary of state and interim adviser for national security. He is also administrator of USAID and the archivist of the United States.
An earlier White House source confirmed that Waltz will be stepping down as National Security Advisor “shortly”.
Mark Halperin is a veteran journalist who first reported Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong’s termination, along with that of other NSC members, due to a “general dissatisfaction in the national-security establishment” regarding the National Security Council’s management. Halperin said that the White House and Treasury Departments were unhappy with Waltz’s leadership.
Halperin announced the news Thursday, during an episode of the podcast “The Morning Meeting”, which he hosts along with Dan Turrentine, the former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Since Halperin’s article, CBS News and Politico have reported that Waltz has been informed of his termination as National Security Advisor. CNN reported this earlier in the week.
Halperin said the Signal mess had nothing to with the ouster. He said Waltz was ironically saved by the scandal which began after he accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg into a group message on March 11 using the Signal encrypted messaging service where top officials discussed the plans to attack Houthis.
There was already dissatisfaction with Waltz’s performance before the Signal controversy shook the administration for weeks, according to Halperin. “There are multiple layers of frustration, and it’s less about the Signal debacle itself and more about a broader perception that things aren’t being run efficiently or in an organized manner,” he said. “It could happen as soon as today—or not at all, because it’s Donald Trump. But the plan is for it to happen soon, possibly this weekend.