United States President Donald Trump has confirmed the news of Mike Waltz’s resignation as National Security Advisor – as stated in his Truth Social media post on 1 May.
“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. After serving in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress, and as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our country’s interests first. I know he will do the same in his new position,” he stated.
Trump added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will temporarily hold the position of national security adviser, combining it with his work at the State Department.
Earlier on Thursday, US media reported that the US president’s national security adviser Mike Walz and his deputy Alex Wong were leaving their positions in the Trump White House.
On 24 March, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of US magazine The Atlantic, described how President Donald Trump’s national security team included him in a secret chat room where strikes against Yemen’s Houthis were discussed. He said the discussion took place on the messenger Signal, which allows the exchange of encrypted messages. Trump’s national security adviser Mike Walz (he was the one who sent Goldberg the invitation), Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defence Pete Hagset and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard participated in the chat.
After the disclosure, Trump administration officials had to offer explanations, assuring that no military plans were discussed in the chat. Walz claimed responsibility for creating the group on Signal, but emphasised that he did not add Goldberg there.
The Atlantic later published screenshots of the correspondence, which mentioned such data as the timing of US strikes against Yemeni Houthis and the types of aircraft used for those strikes, as well as preliminary information about the results of the strikes.
Earlier, Politico reported, citing sources, that the US president’s entourage recommended that he release Walz. Donald Trump, in turn, said that he was not going to fire the adviser and called publications in the media about the leak a “witch hunt”.