National security adviser Mike Waltz is leaving his White House post, although soon after reports about his departure were published, President Trump announced he plans to nominate him to be ambassador to the United Nations.
Waltz’s deputy, Alex Wong, is expected to be out of his White House post, too, according to multiple sources familiar with their departure.
The president also said that in the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser, Mr. Trump said. Waltz will need to be confirmed by the Senate for the ambassador role.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Mr. Trump wrote. “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.”
Waltz said on X, “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”
It was a last-minute decision to nominate Waltz to be U.N. ambassador, sources told CBS News. Mr. Trump made the decision Thursday morning, they said. There had, however, been previous discussions about moving Waltz out of NSC.
A number of factors led to the change. It was perceived at the White House that Waltz didn’t adequately vet NSC staff, sources said, in addition to the Signal saga and a lack of a good fit between Waltz and the senior team.
But Mr. Trump respects Waltz, sources said, and, unlike some in Mr. Trump’s first term, Waltz wasn’t ousted unceremoniously. He was given a high-profile new post.
It was not clear in the early stages who would replace Waltz.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce learned of the president’s decision to appoint Rubio interim national security adviser during a briefing she was giving. Asked by a reporter about how long he might serve in the position, Bruce responded, “It is clear that I just heard this from you.”
Journalist Mark Halperin first reported the departures. As with anything in Mr. Trump’s White House, nothing is final until he announces it.
The president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is having conversations with some of the National Security Council staff today, sources said.
In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Goldberg published his account, and he initially omitted operational details, but after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied any classified information had been shared on the chat, Goldberg published that information, too, which included the timing of the strikes and the weapons packages used.
After Waltz admitted behind closed doors the authenticity of the reporting, White House officials debated whether he should resign, but Waltz never made the offer, and Mr. Trump did not ask him to step down at the time. Publicly, President Trump signaled his support for Waltz by calling him “a good man” who “learned a lesson.”
One source familiar with the situation at the National Security Council said the president thinks sufficient time has passed since the Signal incident that Waltz and Wong’s departures could be framed as part of a reorganization. The president had been hesitant to oust Waltz over the perception that doing so could be seen as bending to outside pressure.
Wong, reached by phone, declined to comment.
As Mr. Trump’s pick to be ambassador to the U.N., Waltz will face Senate confirmation. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said of Waltz and the Signal incident that he gave him credit “for acknowledging the huge mistake made with that very sensitive information that if it gotten out, we could have lost pilots.” Nonetheless, when asked by a reporter about the Senate confirmation hearing Waltz would face as a nominee, Warner replied, “I think it would be pretty brutal. Let’s see what happens.”
GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas expressed confidence Thursday that Waltz would be confirmed and told reporters, “I’m glad he’s still going to be part of the administration.”
Wong served in the first Trump administration as deputy special representative for North Korea and also as deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the State Department. In announcing his appointment, Mr. Trump said Wong helped negotiate his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
It is unlikely that U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will be tapped for the national security adviser job, two sources said. Speculation among Mr. Trump’s allies on Thursday was that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller might be considered, or possibly deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism Seb Gorka, because they are so firmly behind Mr. Trump’s mission. Ric Grenell, special presidential envoy for special missions, said publicly that he didn’t want the post.
The departures of Waltz and Wong come after at least six NSC staffers were fired in early April. Those previous firings came shortly after right-wing personality Laura Loomer visited the Oval Office and presented Mr. Trump with opposition research on NSC staffers whom she views as neoconservatives or not sufficiently loyal to the president, one source said.
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Margaret Brennan and
contributed to this report.