President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will nominate former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for Ambassador to the United Nations, hours after reports suggested he had been fired.
Waltz has been under scrutiny for his role in setting up a group chat on Signal in which sensitive plans to bomb Houthi rebels in Yemen were discussed by other top officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance. The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to the chat, which is how the story was revealed.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced Waltz’s new job. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first,” the president wrote.
Trump further stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor.
It has been about three weeks since the Signalgate story hit the presses. Since then, Democrats and members of the press have kept the issue in the spotlight, hammering the Trump administration for using an app believed to lack the proper security protocols.
Earlier in the day, reports suggested that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, had been fired. But, apparently, the president had other plans.
President Trump has constantly defended Hegseth and Waltz and indicated he still has confidence in both men. This move suggests that the president might be removing Waltz from a sensitive position while still keeping him in the administration.
Trump had initially nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for UN ambassador. However, he withdrew her name from consideration due to concerns that Republicans might lose her seat to Democrats. Given that GOP controls the lower chamber by a thin margin, this appears to be a sensible political strategy.
Waltz’s confirmation hearing is sure to be a contentious one. After Signalgate, Democrats smell blood and will certainly use the fiasco to batter him during the proceedings. Indeed, some Republican senators might be hesitant to approve his nomination after the blunder.
Still, Trump’s influence will loom large. It’s not beyond the scope of reason to suggest that Republican senators might not want to risk Trump’s wrath – even if they have misgivings about the nominee.