National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a television interview at the White House, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump plans to oust national security adviser Mike Waltz – Politico
2025-05-01T15:46:08Z
Names for a replacement have been discussed around the West Wing for weeks.
Names for a replacement have been discussed around the West Wing for weeks, but the plans to remove Waltz gained steam in recent days, according to two of the people, and another person close to the White House.
Waltz will be the first senior level departure in the second Trump administration. The president has so far resisted pressure to remove Cabinet officials and other top advisers. It is a stunning fall for the former member of Congress from Florida and military veteran, even as he lands a coveted diplomatic job.
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser in the interim. It is unclear who will step in to run the influential White House National Security Council on a permanent basis. Currently, a leading pick is Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff who is shepherding negotiations with Russia, Iran and Hamas in Gaza, according to the three of the people.
Other possible contenders include Trump’s top policy chief Stephen Miller, NSC senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka and Trump’s special envoy for special missions Richard Grenell.
Asked for comment on the then-pending announcement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “We are not going to respond to reporting from anonymous sources.”
Waltz’s departure jolts a national security team plagued by chaos and turmoil as Trump’s team tries to broker diplomatic ends to conflicts in three theaters and wages a global trade war.
Deputy national security adviser Alex Wong is also expected to leave, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The White House’s intention to remove Waltz and Wong was previously reported by journalist Mark Halperin on his streamed show “The Morning Meeting.”
Waltz rose from the House Armed Services Committee to the top echelons of the U.S. national security landscape in just six years. Since The Atlantic first reported on the existence of the Signal chat in which top Trump administration officials discussed plans to attack members of the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen, questions swirled within the White House about Waltz’s future.
While Trump and administration officials repeatedly voiced confidence in Waltz, many in the West Wing were also furious at Waltz’s sloppy misstep. Waltz created the chat and mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, to the conversation. The information concerning the March airstrikes, including the timing and weapons systems used, was likely highly classified, per former and current officials.
Waltz has further been weakened after far-right activist Laura Loomer met with Trump and persuaded him to fire several members of the NSC and top officials, including the director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Tim Haugh, over loyalty concerns. Loomer also targeted Waltz’s deputy, Wong, accusing the son of Chinese immigrants of advancing Chinese interests.
In response to reports of Waltz’s ouster Loomer sent a one-word text to POLITICO: “Loomered.”
The scandal and Waltz’s inability to shield his staff from Loomer’s effort significantly hindered his ability to wield influence in the administration, with officials at the White House and State Department increasingly questioning his ability to run the NSC effectively. Chief of staff Susie Wiles was so frustrated with Waltz that she has been barely speaking to him, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Trump has had a fraught relationship with many of his national security advisers, seeing four people cycle through the role over four years when he was last in office. While other presidents have delegated authority to the national security adviser like a principal, Trump prefers a smaller body that functions more like staff.
Waltz suffered for acting more like a principal and less like a staffer, one close White House ally said.
In a sign that he was unable to gain influence, Waltz struggled to place people in top roles in the NSC. Many key posts remain empty after other members of the White House blocked his choices for key senior director NSC posts on strategy, nuclear and strategic issues and African affairs, among others.
His picks were viewed by hard-line MAGA appointees in the White House as too establishment. In the case of Africa, three of Waltz’s picks were rejected in a row. The post remains unfilled.
Waltz’s firing is likely to turn attention to embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump has continued to defend him even as the Signal scandal and ensuing revelations of other similar text threads have rattled the Pentagon and seen the departure of many of his top aides.
Nahal Toosi, Eric Bazail-Eimil and Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
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