President Donald Trump is replacing his National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, and nominating him to be Ambassador to the United Nations, he announced Thursday, marking the first major personnel shake-up of Trump’s second term.
A senior White House official told TIME that Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are set to leave their posts Thursday, weeks after a bombshell report revealed Waltz used the encrypted messaging app Signal to coordinate a sensitive military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.
A former Green Beret and congressman from Florida, Waltz mistakenly added The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to the private chat, which ultimately led to the publication of key operational details after the attack, including timing and weapons packages—details that were later confirmed after Trump Administration officials downplayed the sensitivity of the information in the chat.
While it was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who disclosed the specific military plans on the Signal thread, it was Waltz who created the group and inadvertently invited a journalist to read along. “I take full responsibility. I built the group,” he told Fox News at the time. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.” The misstep sparked a flurry of speculation in Washington about whether anyone would be held accountable. Trump publicly backed both members of his Cabinet in the immediate aftermath, calling Waltz “a good man” who had “learned his lesson.”
Waltz will now need the Senate’s backing to represent the U.S. at the United Nations—a confirmation process that could prove challenging given the slim Republican majority. The U.N. Ambassador role was open after Rep. Elise Stefanik withdrew her nomination so she could hold onto her House seat amid concerns over the GOP’s narrow majority. “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 posted on Truth Social. “I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor.
With Waltz being replaced, more than five weeks after The Atlantic’s story, Democrats on Capitol Hill speculate that the Administration believes enough time has passed to cast the exit as part of a broader reorganization, rather than a direct response to the leak. Many are calling for Hegseth to also step down from his post. Additional reports have revealed Hegseth shared military plans in a second Signal group chat that included his wife and brother. Meanwhile, former staffers have said that there’s a “culture of fear and toxicity” at the Pentagon.
“If the Trump Administration cared about either national security or accountability, Pete Hegseth would be out on his butt,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren tells TIME. “Hegseth’s notion of leadership is to blame Waltz, but I don’t think it was Waltz who had the Signal line installed in Hegseth’s office or invited his wife, brother and lawyer to be on calls where classified information was exchanged… He put our national security at risk—that’s about as bad as it gets.”
Trump told the Atlantic over the weekend that he thinks Hegseth is “gonna get it together” and that he had a “positive talk” with the former Fox News host. Hegseth and Waltz both attended Trump’s Cabinet meeting Wednesday, touting the Administration’s record on national security. “We’ve had 100 days of your leadership with respect, with strength,” Waltz said. “Pulling this great team together Mr. President… It’s an honor to serve you in this Administration.”
Also leaving the Administration is Wong, a veteran diplomat who was appointed deputy national security advisor and previously served in Trump’s first term as a North Korea envoy.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The Signal incident was not Waltz’s only vulnerability. He had long been seen by many in Trump’s orbit as more hawkish than Trump on Russia, Iran, and China, sometimes clashing with other White House officials, the Wall Street Journal reported.
His presence in the White House was also a lightning rod for far-right activists, including Laura Loomer, a firebrand right-wing commentator who is known to have Trump’s ear. Loomer has been critical of Waltz and reportedly accused him of staffing the NSC with “neocons” and officials insufficiently loyal to the “America First” agenda. On Thursday, she publicly celebrated Waltz’s exit on social media, writing “SCALP.”
With Waltz’s exit from the National Security Council, none of the three House Republicans Trump picked to join his second Administration remain in their original positions. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned from his seat when he was picked to be attorney general, ended his nomination in November amid mounting legal issues. In March, Stefanik had to give up plans to represent the U.S. at the United Nations amid concerns that House Republicans, working with a narrow majority, couldn’t afford to lose her vote.
Waltz’s fall comes against the backdrop of Trump’s efforts to project a more stable administration after a first term defined by high-level churn. Trump cycled through four national security advisers in his first four years—including Michael Flynn, who was fired within a month of the 2017 inauguration after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Though Waltz survived longer, his tenure was no less rocky—facing external pressure from Trump loyalists and bearing the brunt of a damaging leak that reverberated through national security circles. On Thursday morning, he appeared on television touting a new critical minerals agreement with Ukraine. Hours later, his exit became apparent.
—With reporting by Eric Cortellessa
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