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Trump says security adviser Waltz to leave White House, picks him for UN post Trump ousts national security adviser Mike Waltz
(about 3 hours later)
Mike Waltz was President Trump's closest adviser on national security issuesMike Waltz was President Trump's closest adviser on national security issues
US President Donald Trump has nominated Mike Waltz as the next US ambassador to the United Nations, confirming Waltz's departure as national security adviser. US President Donald Trump has removed Mike Waltz from his post as national security adviser, and will nominate him as ambassador to the United Nations.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump thanked Waltz for his work and said he would be temporarily replaced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In a post on social media, Trump thanked Waltz for his work and said he would be temporarily replaced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will continue as America's top diplomat.
Waltz faced a difficult tenure at the White House amid accusations that senior officials used insecure methods of communication to conduct government business. Waltz had faced criticism for mistakenly adding a journalist to a chat group where sensitive military plans were discussed - a political embarrassment likely to feature during confirmation hearings for the UN post.
Last month, he took responsibility for a group chat on the Signal messaging app in which high-ranking officials planned military strikes in Yemen in the company of a journalist who was inadvertently added. The former Florida congressman is the first senior member of the administration to leave the White House in Trump's second term.
The former Florida congressman is the first major official to leave the White House in Trump's second term. Waltz's deputy Alex Wong has also reportedly been removed from his post in what appears to be a shakeup of the US' security establishment. "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," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Several staffers at various departments contacted by the BBC - but who wished to remain anonymous - theorised the Trump administration believes Waltz will not be confirmed by the Senate, allowing the president to remove him from his position without having to dismiss him. "I know he will do the same in his new role."
The UN ambassador position has remained vacant after New York Rep Elise Stefanik, Trump's first nominee, failed to gain support and the president withdrew her nomination. Waltz posted a short statement on X, alongside a screenshot of the announcement by the president.
Waltz must receive approval from the Senate to take the job and he will likely face questions over his role in the Signal group chat earlier this year. Lawmakers in Congress had demanded an investigation and grilled the chat participants in hearings, describing the chat as a major breach. "I'm deeply honoured to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation," he wrote.
Minnesota governor and former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz referenced the episode as he made light of the national security adviser's exit on Thursday. According to the BBC's US partner CBS News, Trump decided to nominate Waltz as UN ambassador just hours before the announcement on Thursday.
'Well there you go' - watch moment spokeswoman learns Waltz news
Multiple sources told the network he was ousted because of the Signal situation and a perception in the White House that he did not properly vet National Security Council staff, among other reasons.
But the sources said Trump respects Waltz so he was given a soft landing and a high-profile new post.
However, the BBC spoke to several US officials - who wished to remain anonymous - and they suggested the Trump administration believed Waltz might struggle to be confirmed by the Senate, allowing the president to get rid of him completely without having to fire him.
Waltz has been under scrutiny since he acknowledged in March mistakenly adding the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a group chat on Signal with top US security officials.
Confidential plans for a military strike on Yemen's Houthis were discussed on the message chain, whose members included Waltz, Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
There was uncertainty on Thursday over the fate of Waltz's deputy, Alex Wong, a seasoned foreign policy hand from Trump's first term who was also on the Signal chat.
Wong was asked about the leak during an interview with the BBC's Newsnight programme on Wednesday. He said the administration had been "very successful" in taking on Yemen's Houthis and "the president led on that".
Watch: BBC questions Alex Wong on Signal chat controversy
In March, lawmakers questioned some of the other Signal chat participants at hearings, including the director of national intelligence and the director of the CIA.
The UN ambassador position remains unfilled. Trump withdrew the nomination of his first pick, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, amid Republican concerns about preserving their slender majority in the House of Representatives.
Minnesota Governor and former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz made light of the national security adviser's exit on Thursday.
He posted on X: "Mike Waltz has left the chat."He posted on X: "Mike Waltz has left the chat."
In March, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he had been mistakenly added to a group chat on Signal, in which senior officials - including Waltz, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio - discussed confidential information about a planned military strike on Yemen. Waltz had continued to use Signal, according to an image captured by a Reuters photojournalist at a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Goldberg revealed he was added to the chat by Mike Waltz, who later took responsibility for the fiasco. The zoomed-in picture showed Waltz checking his phone and a chat ongoing with a contact saved under the name of JD Vance, who is US vice-president.
At the time, Trump and US intelligence chiefs downplayed the security risks and said no classified material was shared. The message from the Vance contact read in part: "I have confirmation from my counterpart it's turned off. He is going to be here."
President Trump had defended Waltz, saying he was "doing his best" with "equipment and technology that's not perfect". Trump's announcement, meanwhile, of the latest role for Rubio appeared to catch state department officials off guard.
Bernd Debusmann Jr contributed reporting. Rubio will now be the first official to serve both as secretary of state and national security adviser since Henry Kissinger half a century ago.
Rubio is also acting head of both the gutted United States Agency for International Development and the National Archives.
The Washington rumour mill suggests Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer and and personal friend of Trump who is currently a US Special Envoy to the Middle East, could ultimately replace Waltz.
Another name doing the rounds is also one of Trump's special envoys, Ric Grenell, who has a longer diplomatic track record.
Trump went through four national security advisers in his first term. The first, Michael Flynn, served less than three weeks.
Another, John Bolton, later wrote an unflattering book about Trump. Bolton told the BBC on Thursday that Waltz's removal was reminiscent of the "chaos" from Trump's first term.