In a move that President Donald Trump has been criticized for, Marco Rubio is being asked by the secretary of state to change Mike Waltz as his national security adviser, giving one Floridian two strong names in the same way he demotes another.
Trump described Rubio’s new position as an “interim,” leaving him with a choice as he overhauls his National Security Council following Waltz’s withdrawal.
Waltz may travel to New York as Trump’s ambassador to the UN, a body Trump has long opposed to. He was forced out of his position as the government’s chief protection director.
The personnel changes are the first major personnel changes to come under the second Trump management, and they come five weeks after The Atlantic broke the enthralling report that Waltz unintentionally added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal messaging group where top U.S. national security officials discussed delicate military plans for strikes against Houthi rebels.
Waltz’s public reputation was severely damaged by the Signal problem, but it was his domestic organizational and operational abilities that put him in Trump’s crosshairs.
Rubio’s elevation to a two position is uncommon but not unheard of. Henry Kissinger, the next secretary of state to assist as a national security adviser while also serving as one under Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, served both posts from 1973 to 1975.
Major staffers were unprepared for the second Trump administration’s sudden transformation.
A writer informed representative Tammy Bruce of Trump’s determination to nominate her employer to a new position at Thursday’s State Department briefing.
” It is obvious that I only heard this — from you,” Bruce said. I do have some insight into the potential of some possible events. But when the president makes all political decisions, that is correct, and this of training is that. So I’m now working for the State Department.
According to Bruce,” Points don’t arise until the president says they will happen,” he continued, appearing shocked by the news.
Senate approval may be necessary for Waltz’s election to the UN. After the government’s unique appointment, Rep. Elise Stefanik, failed to receive a ballot, the place has been available for the entirety of Trump’s next term.
In a House with a wide split, Republicans feared losing Stefanik’s support, so Trump later requested that the New York congressman stay in her seat to strengthen the enlarging GOP majority there.
Waltz, who has not provided an explanation for why he was fired as a national security adviser, stated online that he was honored to be able to serve the leader in a new power.
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