Mike Waltz, Trump’s ex-national security advisor, named UN ambassador

The Brief

• • Mike Waltz was named the new UN ambassador by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
  • Waltz was removed from his position as the national security advisor in the Trump administration.
  • Trump announced on social media that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now the interim national security advisor.
  • The exit of Waltz comes weeks after he accidentally invited a journalist into a chat between top national security officials detailing plans for Yemen airstrikes.

Mike Waltz, the former top national security advisor, has been named UN ambassador by President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as the acting national security advisor.

Trump made the announcement Thursday on his Truth Social platform, writing “I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States 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. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Earlier Thursday, Waltz was removed from his role as Trump’s top national security advisor.

Why is Mike Waltz out?

The backstory:

Mike Waltz’s exit comes weeks after he mistakenly invited a journalist into a chat between top national security officials discussing plans for Yemen airstrikes.

President Donald Trump initially supported Waltz after his national security adviser and other members of denied sharing any classified war plans on the publicly available app Signal.

The chat came to light when Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, released a March 24 story detailing how Waltz accidentally invited him into the chat.

Goldberg noted in his story that top officials in the chat discussed military plans to attack the Houthi militant group in Yemen, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sent a message sharing strike times by U.S. warplanes and drones, USA Today reported, citing the article.

In March, FOX News reported that Trump was not planning to fire Waltz after the release of The Atlantic article. “He’s not getting fired,” Trump told Fox News. The president said the incident was a “mistake,” though there was “nothing important” in the Signal text thread.