Washington, May 1 (EFE) – United States President Donald Trump announced on Thursday the appointment of Mike Waltz as 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 on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The role change comes after media reports surfaced that Trump planned to oust Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong.
The alleged trigger was the “Signalgate” scandal, in which Waltz inadvertently included The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in a Signal chat group where several Cabinet members chatted for four days about preparations for a military strike in Yemen on March 15.
In the chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ended up revealing sensitive information, including targets, deployed military assets, and, two hours in advance, the timeline for an attack on Houthi rebels that could have endangered US military personnel.
Senior administration officials point out that Waltz had already been removed from key negotiations, such as the search for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
He was scheduled to join Trump in Michigan on Tuesday for an event commemorating the first 100 days of his second term but ultimately did not attend.
Unlike the role of national security adviser, the UN ambassadorship requires Senate confirmation. Waltz’s involvement in the signal mishap will be a source of contention in the Senate confirmation process. EFE
mgr/mcd