A top White House official was reassigned on Thursday after the fallout from a botched war room chat that captured headlines when the chat was directly leaked to the news media.
President Trump announced he plans to shift National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — a move coming just weeks after Waltz reportedly mishandled classified military communications, triggering the first major shake-up of Trump’s second term.
Waltz, a former Green Beret and congressman, faced scrutiny in March after accidentally adding journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic to a private Signal group chat. The channel was reportedly used to coordinate a classified March 15 strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also in the chat, dismissed the backlash as politically motivated. “What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out,” Hegseth said in a televised interview on Easter Sunday.
Despite speculation that Waltz’s aggressive posture on national defense may have caused friction within the administration, President Trump opted not to dismiss him outright. Instead, he announced Thursday that Waltz would be nominated as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The vacancy left by Waltz was quickly filled. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been appointed as interim National Security Advisor.
With more than 1,000 days remaining in Trump’s second term, Democrats say this shake-up may only be the beginning. “Not surprised,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), “but in the words of the late great John McCain, ‘there’s more shoes to fall off this centipede.'”
Concerns surrounding Waltz’s handling of classified information are expected to factor heavily into his upcoming Senate confirmation hearings for the UN post.
WATCH CBN News Analysis of What Happened to Waltz:
