Ali Abbas Ahmadi and Bern Debsman Jr. of Washington
BBC News
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Mike Waltz was President Trump’s closest advisor on national security issues
US President Donald Trump removes Mike Waltz from his post as national security adviser and nominates him as the UN ambassador.
In a social media post, Trump thanked Waltz for his work and said he would temporarily replace him with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will continue as America’s top diplomat.
The Waltz faced criticism for the incorrect addition of journalists to a chat group where sensitive military plans were discussed – the political embarrassment featured during a UN Post Office confirmation hearing.
The former Florida House member is the first senior member of the administration to leave the White House in Trump’s second term.
“From the days of uniformed on the battlefield, in Congress and as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz worked hard to put our country’s interests first,” Trump wrote in a post on True Society.
“He knows he’ll do the same in his new role.”
Waltz posted a short statement to X along with a screenshot of the president’s announcement.
“I am deeply honored to continue serving President Trump and our great nation,” he wrote.
Trump decided to nominate Waltz as UN ambassador hours before the announcement on Thursday, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
“Well, go there” – Watch the momentary spokeswoman learn waltz news
Sources told the network that he was banished due to the recognition that he had not properly considered National Security Council staff due to the circumstances and awareness of the White House signal.
However, sources said that Trump respects the waltz, which gave him a soft landing and a new post that attracted attention.
However, the BBC spoke to several US officials who wanted to remain anonymous, and the Trump administration thought the waltz might have a hard time being confirmed by the Senate, allowing the president to completely drive him away without firing him.
Waltz has been under scrutiny since admitting in March that he accidentally added Atlantic Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat with signaling with top US security officials.
A confidential plan for a military strike against Yemeni Hutis was discussed in the message chain. Its members included Waltz, Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses.
On Thursday there was uncertainty about the fate of Waltz’s agent, Alex Wong.
Wong was asked about the leak in an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight program on Wednesday. He said the administration was “very successful” with Yemeni Houtis and “the president is leading it.”
Watch: BBC asks Alex Wong about Signal Chat controversy
In March, lawmakers asked some other signal chat participants during their hearing, including the director of National Intelligence and the director of the CIA.
The position of UN ambassador remains unfilled. Trump retracted his first pick, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination amid Republican concerns that he would maintain a slender majority in the House.
Minnesota governor and former Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Waltz revealed the exit for national security advisers on Thursday.
He posted on X: “Mike Waltz has left the chat.”
Waltz continued to use the signal, according to images taken by Reuters photojournalists at Wednesday’s White House Cabinet meeting.
Zoom-in photos showed Waltz checking his phone and continuing to chat with contacts saved under the name of US Vice President JD Vance.
A message from Vance’s contacts states, “There’s a confirmation from the counterpart that’s off. He’ll be here.”
Meanwhile, the announcement of Trump’s latest role as Rubio appeared to have caught State Department officials off guard.
Rubio will be the first official to serve as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor since Henry Kissinger half a century ago.
Rubio is also a representative of both the National Government Agency for International Development and the National Archives.
Rumors in Washington suggest that Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer and personal friend of Trump, now a US special envoy in the Middle East, could ultimately replace the waltz.
The other name that makes the round is also one of Trump’s special envoys, with a long track record in diplomacy.
Trump served as four national security advisers in his first semester. The first Michael Flynn took less than three weeks.
Another thing, John Bolton later wrote a sly book about Trump. Bolton told the BBC on Thursday that waltz removal was reminiscent of “chaos” from Trump’s first term.
