Washington, May 3: US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz was shunted out of his post Thursday following “Signal-gate”, in President Donald Trump’s first overhaul of the government since coming into power this year.Waltz, the former Florida representative, has now been nominated to become the next ambassador of the US to the United Nations, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take over the duties of the NSA on an interim basis. It is the first time since Henry Kissinger that a Secretary of State will also handle the duties of NSA.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. 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,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Waltz has been on the firing line ever since he added a journalist—The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg—to a top secret group on Signal, the messaging application, to discuss the air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen in March. The group included US Vice President J.D. Vance, Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and a raft of other senior administration officials.
When the report of Waltz’s error first came out, his job was saved at the time because Trump did not want to be seen as giving into the news media organisations reporting on the matter, according to The New York Times.
Furthermore, Waltz’s change in roles came after Trump finished his first 100 days in office, thereby preventing the perception of a chaotic White House, which was seen during his first stint as president. In 2017, barely four weeks after assuming the presidency for the first time, Trump had fired his then NSA Lieutenant General Mike Flynn (Retd.) after admitting to misleading the then vice president on his ties to a Russian diplomat.
Waltz was expected to visit India in early May, but his trip remained in limbo due to the challenges he was facing from Signal-gate to the ire of the Far-Right. He was considered to be an important voice for India within the administration, and also likely a supporter for Ukraine.
However, according to The New York Times, Waltz was already viewed as too hawkish within Trump’s administration. Trump was elected on a platform skeptical of foreign intervention. Waltz’s position was further under fire from the Far-Right, with Laura Loomer, a Far-Right activist, leading the charge.
In early April, six National Security Council (NSC) staffers were fired, after Loomer met with Trump and Waltz. According to American media reports, Loomer carried a sheaf of papers and went after each staffer individually, questioning their loyalty.
One of Loomer’s major targets at the time was Alex Wong, the deputy NSA, who is also expected to be removed as a part of the reshuffle, according to media reports. With Rubio now being appointed as interim NSA, the former senator from Florida has a growing number of titles in the current administration. Apart from being the US’ top diplomat, he also heads USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the National Archives.