The national security hawk is fine: Do we really need Signal? Trump tells The Atlantic not to “Signal” when you’re going to the United Nations
President Trump said on Thursday he is nominating his national security adviser Mike Waltz as his ambassador to the United Nations in the first big shake up of top aides since Trump started his second term.
Trump said on social media that he would make Marco Rubio his interim national security adviser — a role that will come on top of his existing job, Secretary of State.
The national security hawk was an uphill path to climb within Trump’s circle. He had long been an advocate of sanctions against Russia and never seemed to fully align with Trump’s approach to Moscow and other adversaries.
Trump had initially defended Waltz — who took responsibility for the mishap — and downplayed the incident as a “glitch.” He was complimentary of Waltz in his announcement on Thursday, and last week told The Atlantic in an interview that “Waltz is fine” when asked about his future.
I think we have learned to not use signal. If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people,” Trump said.
Tammy Bruce and the Double Assignment of Henry Kissinger: a State Secretary and a National Security Advisor to the White House in 1974–1975
But Trump has leaned more heavily on other top aides for national security issues like the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and talks with Iran, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Tammy Bruce was briefed on the rumors by the State Department and she was the one who announced the news. Bruce said that they had to admit that the last 100 days were like hanging on to a bullet train.
The chairman of the House committee on readiness before he became president, Waltz was also a member of the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees.
“it’s highly unconventional, but it’s not unusual for the Trump administration. I watched it with a lot of awe because I had not seen it before, Tenpas said.
Many people have been given the same position by Trump at the same time. Mick Mulvaney was head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in his first term as budget director.
“Some Americans in Washington and elsewhere thought the double assignment gave Kissinger too much power and persuaded President Ford to strip him of his White House title in late 1975,” presidential historian Michael Beschloss said.
The last person to simultaneously be Secretary of State and national security adviser was Henry Kissinger, during the Nixon era. He did both jobs for two years.
The Group Chat Controversy in the U.S. Senate: Why Did Trump Decide to Leave the Uniform House of Representatives?
Vance denied that the change in position was a sign of philosophical divisions within Trump’s team. “I’ve already seen some folks saying that this is a war between the hawks and the anti-hawks, new conservatives vs. MAGA or the realists — that’s not what this is about at all,” Vance said.
“The media wants to frame this as a firing. Donald Trump has fired a lot of people. He doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterwards,” Vance said.
The president hasn’t spoken to reporters about his decision. But Vice President Vance said in an interview that the change in roles had nothing to do with the group chat incident.
The UN spot has been vacant since Trump asked his first nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to instead stay in Congress to help preserve the narrow majority Republicans hold in the House of Representatives.