Not just Signal-gate: Why Mike Waltz was ousted as Trump’s NSA

When Donald Trump was a reality star — he appeared on the hit show The Apprentice — he had a tag line: ‘You’re fired.’ And on Thursday, he may have used that line when he ousted Mike Waltz from his post as national security adviser.

But it’s not all bad news for Waltz; the US president announced that he would be nominating Waltz as ambassador to the United Nations. It is the first significant personnel overhaul of the White House, and the kind of shake-up that the president may have sought to avoid in his second term.

But what led to Waltz’s ouster? Who has replaced him? What awaits Waltz? If you are asking these questions, we have the answers.

From military man to NSA

Mike Waltz, from Florida, is a former special forces soldier who served in the US military for 21 years and was involved in multiple combat tours to Afghanistan. Before serving as Trump’s national security adviser, Waltz also served as a Republican congressman for Florida since 2019.

Many believe that Trump’s reason for picking Waltz for the role was his vocal criticism of China. Waltz had earlier spoken about Beijing’s activity in the Asia-Pacific, claiming the US needs to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.

Waltz ousted as Trump’s NSA

On Thursday, the news broke that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were being ousted from their roles.

In a post on social media, Trump announced the news, thanking Waltz for his work. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s interests first,” Trump wrote in a post on social media. “I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”

In response, Waltz said on X, “I’m deeply honoured to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”

According to CBS News, it was a last-minute decision to nominate Waltz to be UN ambassador. Trump decided Thursday morning, the sources said, but there had been previous discussions about moving Waltz out of the National Security Council.

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There are a number of reasons for Waltz’s ouster. Firstly, Signal-gate. Waltz faced massive criticism for mistakenly adding The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat that shared sensitive information about US missile strikes in Yemen before they took place.

The group had other high-ranking officials such as Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Waltz later told Fox News on the leak, “I take responsibility. I built the group.”

He added that it was “embarrassing”.

But that wasn’t the only issue with Waltz. It was also perceived at the White House that Waltz didn’t adequately vet NSC staff.

Waltz was also on shaky ground owing to his strained working relationship with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and other top officials. Moreover, he faced pressure from other quarters — many Trump supporters saw Waltz as being at odds with the ‘America First’ agenda. For instance, Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon was rallying for Waltz’s removal. There was also far-right activist Laura Loomer who alleged that Wong had loyalties to China, weakening Waltz’s power.

Waltz’s removal comes at a crucial time for the United States. It has to handle three potent adversaries: China, Russia and Iran. Moreover, Trump is making the change just two weeks before his first major trip abroad, to Saudi Arabia and other Arab capitals in the West Asia, and in the midst of tense negotiations with Moscow and Tehran.

However, speaking on the change in roles, US Vice President JD Vance asserted that this had nothing to do with the group chat incident. “I know the president really likes Mike Waltz. He just thought that the UN ambassador position would be a better place for Mike Waltz to be,” Vance told Fox News.

“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.

“I think you could make a good argument it’s a promotion,” Vance added, defending Waltz for completing the job for what he was picked for by the US president.

Trump and his history with NSAs

While Waltz is Trump’s first ouster in his second term, he has had a history with his national security advisers in his first term.

Trump fired his first National Security Adviser, Michael T Flynn, within four weeks of his inauguration in 2017, saying he did so because Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about talks he held with the Russian ambassador.

He ran through four national security advisers in his first term. One of them, John R Bolton, wrote a memoir about his time working for the president that was deeply revealing, and embarrassing, to Trump.

Uncertain future awaits Waltz

Trump’s move to shift Waltz to UN ambassador now awaits confirmation by the US Senate, where Republicans narrowly control the majority. However, many believe that Waltz may struggle to get confirmed in light of Signal-gate. This, in turn, will allow Trump to get rid of him completely without having to fire him.

In fact, the Washington Post has reported that Democratic senators are eager to grill Waltz. “I look forward to a thorough confirmation hearing,” Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware), wrote on X, linking to a Reuters photograph that showed Waltz holding his phone during a Wednesday Cabinet meeting, the Signal messaging app open on his screen.

“I think there’s obvious questions about the treatment of classified or sensitive information, use of Signal, how the whole episode of Signal unfolded,” Coons said later in an interview. “But I also want to talk about United Nations . . . [and] how he understands our security, because I think a lot of the moves by the Trump administration have made our nation less secure, not more secure.”

With inputs from agencies