WASHINGTON — President Trump announced a major shakeup in his national security team Thursday, tapping Mike Waltz to be his United Nations ambassador while Secretary of State Marco Rubio will fill Waltz’s former national security adviser post on an acting basis.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social. “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.”
Reports circulated Thursday morning indicating Waltz, 51, would be out of a job following a debacle in which he accidentally added Atlantic magazine editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat about March 15 airstrikes in Yemen, over which sensitive military information was shared.
Responding to the news Trump was tapping him for the UN, Waltz wrote on X: “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”
Trump had publicly backed Waltz at the time of the Signal scandal, saying the former Florida congressman had learned his “lesson” and was a “good man” — refusing to give any indication he would soon be out of the West Wing.
However, one source familiar with Trump’s plans for Waltz — who was spotted again browsing Signal messages during a Wednesday cabinet meeting — told The Post he was saved from dismissal by the president not wanting to fire anyone prominent during his first 100 days in office, a milestone Trump reached on Tuesday.
Among those who wanted Waltz gone following the “Signal-gate” fiasco was White House personnel director Sergio Gor, Politico reported.
Chief of staff Susie Wiles had also soured on Waltz following the Signal drama after initially vouching for the security adviser, a source close to the administration said.
In addition, far-right influencer Laura Loomer had her claws out for Waltz after she discovered a 9-year-old video in which he called out Trump for making disparaging remarks about captured American service members.
“He essentially called anyone captured in combat a loser,” Waltz said of Trump in the clip, recorded during the 2016 GOP primary campaign. “It’s something that I just personally can’t stomach. Don’t let Trump fool you. Look into his real record and stop Trump now!”
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The initial report by 2Way co-founder and editor-in-chief Mark Halperin that Waltz was leaving the national security adviser position shocked many in Trump’s orbit.
One source argued that Trump’s choice to put Waltz at the UN and naming Rubio his interim replacement showed that the president wants to signal that he’s in control — rather than reacting to any internal or external calls for Waltz’s dismissal.
“It wasn’t anyone’s choice but his because no one asked for this combo of things,” this person said of the president’s latest appointments.
“Today Trump won. Everyone (staff, Israel, Iran, [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth) is left wondering where they sit with him.”
Waltz’s “soft landing” caused speculation about why he wasn’t outright fired — with one person close to the White House speculating that his bonds with fellow Floridians who comprise much of the administration’s upper echelons explains why he wasn’t canned via tweet, as was frequently the case for senior officials in Trump’s first term.
It’s unclear how long Rubio will be serving as Waltz’s interim replacement, but speculation about who the permanent replacement will be has already begun.
Two sources told The Post that White House Director of Policy Planning Michael Anton may be in the running, with one source calling him the favorite of Vice President JD Vance.
Anton gained notoriety in political circles ahead of the 2016 presidential election when he penned a pseudonymous essay titled “The Flight 93 Election” — likening voting for Hillary Clinton to passengers on the ill-fated 9/11 flight allowing Al Qaeda hijackers to crash the plane rather than charging the cockpit.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special Middle East envoy and emissary to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has also been widely reported as a possible Waltz replacement, as have top White House policy adviser Stephen Miller, National Security Council senior counterterrorism director Sebastian Gorka and special envoy for special missions Richard Grenell.
Trump has stood firmly behind Hegseth, who has been involved in his own share of drama. The DOD head was the one who sent out the military information, including a minute-by-minute schedule of bombing runs on the first Signal chat that also implicated Waltz — and then was caught sending sensitive information in a second chat with his brother and wife.
The president originally nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be his UN envoy, with the lawmaker preparing for months to move to New York City and get cracking at upending the international organization with Trump’s policies.
But Trump ultimately pulled her nomination to keep the GOP majority stronger in the House, which has razor-thin margins. Stefanik has since publicly flirted with a run for governor of New York in 2026.
Rubio’s possible dual posts as national security adviser and secretary of state would be a historic feat.
Mike Pompeo, Trump’s top diplomat during his first term, made no secret of his desire for a similar dual role in 2019 — in emulation of Henry Kissinger, who held both titles from 1973 to 1975 — only for the president to dash Pompeo’s hopes by saying he preferred two top advisers rather than one.
Two sources close to the president told The Post that they expect Waltz to be confirmed as UN ambassador — despite fallout from the Signal controversy.
“It’s UN ambassador,” one said of a potential GOP rebellion in the Senate. “No one gives a s—.”
