US National Security adviser Mike Waltz resigned on Thursday alongside his deputy Alex Wong — a month after the Signal chat leak scandal. The 51-year-old former Republican lawmaker had faced widespread criticism in March after top US officials added a journalist to a group chat and proceeded to discuss bombings in Yemen.
Waltz was blamed for accidentally adding the editor of The Atlantic magazine to a private thread describing details of an imminent U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen. The Atlantic reported on the mishap. At a subsequent Cabinet meeting with Waltz in the room, Trump expressed his preference for holding such conversations in a secure setting, a clear sign of his displeasure. But he and others in the White House expressed confidence in Waltz at the time. Waltz also attended Trump’s televised Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
But the Signal controversy was reportedly not the only mark against Waltz in Trump’s eye. A person familiar with the Cabinet’s internal dynamics told Reuters that Waltz was too hawkish for the war-averse Trump and was seen as not effectively coordinating foreign policy among a variety of agencies, a key role for the national security adviser. Another source said Trump wanted to get to the 100-day mark in his term before firing a cabinet-level official.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau have been projected as possible replacements. Sources also told Reuters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio could assume the position on a temporary basis while a permanent selection was being made. The national security adviser is a powerful role but one that does not require Senate confirmation.
People in the know told however Reuters that Waltz was being forced out of his job. Far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer, has also targeted Waltz in recent days — telling Trump during a Oval Office conversation that he needs to purge aides who she believes are insufficiently loyal to the “Make America Great Again” agenda.
The NSC that Waltz will leave behind has been thinned by dismissals in recent weeks. The bloodletting began a month ago, when Laura Loomer, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, handed Trump a list of individuals in the NSC she deemed to be disloyal during a meeting at the White House. Following that meeting, four senior directors were released. Those four senior directors – who oversaw intelligence, technology, international organizations and legislative affairs, respectively – had a long history in conservative policymaking and no apparent animosity toward Trump, leaving colleagues puzzled by their dismissals, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.Some NSC staffers were upset that Waltz did not more forcefully defend his staff, those people said.Since then, more than 20 additional NSC staffers of various profiles have been let go, typically with no notice, the people said.In recent weeks, multiple officials have declined positions at the NSC amid the ongoing personnel upheaval, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Some areas of the council are now lightly staffed, with both the Latin America and Africa sections lacking permanent senior directors as of last week.
(With inputs from agencies)