U.S. President Trump announced on social media on Thursday (1st) that U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will leave his current position and be transferred to the position of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The vacancy will be filled concurrently by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
This is the first major personnel change since Trump's second term.
Trump said, "From the time he (Waltz) put on a uniform and served on the battlefield, to serving in Congress, to serving as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz has always worked hard to put the national interest first... I am confident he will do the same in his new position. During this period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department."
In March, Waltz mistakenly added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to a Singal group chat and shared confidential information about the US airstrikes on the Houthi armed forces in Yemen, causing serious controversy and rumors of his replacement have been circulating ever since.
Rubio will be the second official to serve as both secretary of state and national security adviser since Henry Kissinger held both posts under Presidents Nixon and Ford; in addition to those two positions, Mr. Rubio currently serves as acting head of the previously curtailed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Archives.
The New York Times quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Rubio had previously stated that if Waltz was replaced and he was needed to take over temporarily, he would be willing to act for six months.
The New York Times also cited senior White House officials as saying that Waltz's deputy, Joshua Wong, was also among those leaving. Wong served as deputy special representative for North Korea during Trump's first term and as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the State Department. He helped arrange summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and is one of the few senior officials with practical diplomatic experience in East Asia.
After Trump announced the new personnel arrangements, right-wing internet celebrity Laura Loomer claimed online that it was her credit; Loomer began publicly attacking Huang Zhihan in March for "putting China's interests above the interests of the United States."
