In a surprise shakeup, embattled National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was ousted from his role – though not ejected from the Trump administration entirely.
Instead, he will be nominated to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations, replacing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) who returned to the House in late March over concerns about the slim GOP majority.
The Rumors
Rumors have swirled about Waltz’s future since the Signalgate scandal that saw The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg accidentally added to a Trump administration Signal chat about the planned attacks on the Houthis, but they reached a crescendo this week.
Mark Halperin, host of Next Up on MK Media, was first to break the news of Waltz’s outster ahead of all major media outlets. Despite the fact that the NSA was on Fox News as recently as Thursday morning, Halperin cited three different people – the original source and two others – who confirmed the White House’s plan to remove him, deputy Alex Wong, and much of the current staff at the National Security Council (NSC).
The change was “because of unhappiness throughout the national security establishment of how they’re doing,” Halperin noted. The West Wing is unhappy. The State Department, the Treasury? Unhappiness. And of course, this was around before Signalgate.”
The Decision
President Donald Trump confirmed the speculation on Truth Social Thursday. “I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” he posted. “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. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
The switcheroo is interesting, Halperin reported, because it was initially believed Signalgate may have “saved” Waltz’s job because “the president didn’t want to be seen as if he were giving in to Jeffrey Goldberg… But there’s lots of levels of unhappiness and it’s less about Signalgate than it is about, as I understand it from my sources, a general belief that [the NSC] is not being run efficiently in an organized way.”
As covered on Friday’s AM Update, Axios also reported Waltz’s troubles went beyond Signalgate. He allegedly found himself on the wrong side of the senior Trump team – from Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to MAGA influencer Laura Loomer. Waltz is known for his hawkish stance on Iran at a time when some in the president’s inner circle worry the administration is edging toward open conflict.
What Comes Next
In the interim, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor in addition to his role at the State Department.
As for who may replace Waltz, Halperin said the leading contender for the job is Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Politico reported other top contenders include Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, NSC Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, and Special Envoy for Special Missions Ric Grenell.
You can get all the day’s headlines by tuning into the AM Update with Megyn Kelly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch AM Update live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays at 8:45am ET.