Trump removes Waltz as national security adviser, becoming first Cabinet casualty
Mike Waltz, the former Florida congressman who ascended to be President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, was pushed out of that job on Thursday, becoming the first Cabinet official to fall in this administration.
The president announced his decision in a social media post, leading with his choice to move Waltz to the United Nations, sparing him the embarrassment of a complete firing.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump posted Thursday afternoon. “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.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will fill Waltz’s shoes as “interim” national security adviser, Trump added.
The 51-year-old Waltz became most prominently known for adding a journalist to a Signal text thread of high-level Trump administration officials discussing imminent strikes on the Houthis, a Yemen-based military movement. The March snafu embroiled the administration in controversy for several weeks.
Journalist Mark Halperin of 2Way, who first broke the news of Waltz’s pending exit, said Waltz’s downfall was brought on by deep dissatisfaction throughout the administration with his performance.
“The West Wing’s unhappy, the State Department, Treasury... unhappiness,” Halperin reported on his daily morning news program. “It’s less about Signalgate than it is about ... a general belief that the [NSC] is not being run efficiently in an organized way.”
MORE: Can Waltz survive Signal scandal?
Just last week, Trump described Waltz as wounded during an interview with The Atlantic.
“Waltz is fine. I mean, he’s here. He just left this office. He’s fine. He was beat up also,” the president told the magazine.
A decorated former Army Green Beret, Waltz was tapped by Trump for his foreign policy credentials and deep experience in military and intelligence affairs.
Early in his term, Waltz accompanied Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine peace efforts, played a key role in ending a waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iranian electricity and publicly rejected the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. He also prioritized strengthening ties with India and advocated for a more assertive U.S. stance on China and the southern border.
However, his position also required balancing his traditional conservative foreign policy worldview with Trump’s more transactional America First dogma, leading to internal skepticism about Waltz from both the Washington national security establishment and Trump loyalists.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Trump removes Waltz as national security adviser, becoming first Cabinet casualty."
