Mike Waltz grapples with ‘Signalgate' during UN confirmation hearing
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled Waltz over the Signal group-chat scandal involving him and a slew of Trump administration officials — accusing him of outright lying about how Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to the chat, which involved planning the mid-March airstrikes on the Houthis.
'I was hoping to hear from you that you had some sense of regret over sharing what was very sensitive, timely information about a military strike on a commercially available app,' Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) grumbled to Waltz, who was national security adviser at the time.
'Signalgate' wasn't a top focus for lawmakers on the panel, but after about an hour into the hearing, Democrats made sure to dredge it up and pummel Waltz over it as they weigh his UN confirmation.
'There was no classified information on that chat,' Waltz countered, a point he reiterated multiple times during the hearing.
4 Mike Waltz tangles with several Democratic senators on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as he seeks to be confirmed as the next US ambassador to the UN.
Getty Images
4 Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) scolds Waltz for not expressing more remorse over the Signal chat debacle.
Getty Images
Waltz has been accused of accidentally adding Goldberg to the discussion.
While the Trump administration has maintained that there was technically no information on the leaked chat deemed classified, published versions of it show that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth messaged times and targets for the US' military strikes against the Houthis.
Perhaps the most forceful Democrat who Waltz faced Tuesday was Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who accused him of being untruthful about how Goldberg was added to the Signal chat.
Initially, Waltz claimed he never met the Atlantic's top editor and implied Goldberg's number had been inadvertently added to his phone.
'I've seen you not only fail to stand up, but lie,' Booker fumed, accusing the UN nominee of exhibiting 'profound cowardice.'
'That's not leadership when you blame people that tell the truth,' Booker said. 'That's not leadership when you can't say the words, 'I made a mistake. I could have done better.' '
4 Waltz tries to downplay the Signalgate fiasco during his hearing.
Getty Images
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) also underscored that 'Signal has not been approved for use by U.S. government officials for the sharing of classified information.'
Waltz stressed that Signal's use was encouraged by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) during the Biden administration, though he later admitted that it was not designated for sharing classified information — although he still insisted wasn't shared in the leaked chat.
About a month after the Signalgate scandal, Trump announced that he would nominate Waltz as his US ambassador to the UN and make Secretary of State Marco Rubio his acting national security adviser.
In the time since, Waltz has maintained a paycheck from the White House over his role as an adviser, he said.
4 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) presses Waltz about the information that had been shared in the Signal chat.
Getty Images
'I was not fired. The president never said that, nor did the vice president,' Waltz told Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.)
Should Waltz get confirmed, he will fill the UN role that has been held by Dorothy Shea in an acting capacity since January. Trump had initially nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for the post but later withdrew her nomination in March amid fears about winnowing the razor-thin House GOP majority if she gave up her seat for it.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
8 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump approval rating drops in new poll; more Americans oppose immigration policies
A new poll found that support for President Donald Trump's immigration policies is falling, with stark differences among Republicans and Democrats on deportations and the use of detention facilities. The poll, released July 20 by CBS/YouGov, found that immigration is the top issue respondents said swayed their opinion of the president's job performance, with 61% saying immigration and deportation policies "mattered a lot," followed by inflation and the economy. Overall, the poll puts Trump's approval rating at 42%, with disapproval at 58%. The survey previously found Trump's approval rating was 45% in June and 47% in mid-April. In contrast, the second-term president's aggregate approval ratings from The New York Times and Real Clear Politics show a 44% and 45.5% approval, respectively, and a 53% and 52% disapproval. The new survey's findings come just a few days after Trump's approval numbers on immigration hit an all-time low since the start of his second term in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between July 15 and July 16. Approximately 41% of Americans approved of the administration's immigration stances, while 51% disapproved. Among the 2,343 U.S. adult respondents in the CBS poll, 56% said they disapprove of the way the president is handling immigration, while 44% said they approve. That's a ten-point drop from when pollsters asked the same question at the beginning of the president's second term in February, the outlet reports, when 54% approved and 46% disapproved. The poll also specifically asked respondents about the administration's efforts to deport immigrants they say are in the U.S. illegally. Support for the push has also dropped ten points since February, with a majority now against the policies. Less than half − 49% − of respondents said they approved of the deportations in the July survey, compared to 59% in the results from February. "Approval of the deportation program has slipped over these months to become slightly net-negative now, with support becoming more exclusively drawn from Republicans and MAGA identifiers," CBS said upon release of the results on Sunday. The differences in support for Trump's immigration policies is split among party lines. Nearly all Republicans surveyed − 91% − say they approve of the president's deportation program. Among Democrats, 14% say they approve, while a majority – 86% – disapproved. Among independents, 59% were against the deportations and 41% were for them. The administration's use of detention facilities, like its deportation efforts, saw similar results in the July poll, with 58% disapproving and 42% approving of their use. Support was also drawn across party lines, with 85% of Republicans approving of the detention facilities, compared to 15% of Democrats. The poll was conducted between July 16-18. It has a margin of error of ±2.5 points. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
New York Post
8 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump calls on NFL's Washington Commanders owner to bring back Redskins name: ‘GET IT DONE'
President Trump on Sunday publicly demanded that the Washington Commanders to change the team name back to the Redskins— labeling them derisively the 'Washington Whatever's.' He also said the Cleveland Guardians should revert to being the Indians. 3 President Trump is urging the owner of the NFL's Washington Commanders to return to their original name. AP Advertisement 3 The team officially changed their name to the Commanders in 2022. Getty Images Both teams had rebranded several years ago due to concerns that their Native American-inspired names were offensive, but Trump argued that the pendulum has since swung back against political correctness. 'The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this,' Trump declared, unprompted on Truth Social Sunday. Advertisement 'Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past,' the president went on. 'Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago.' 'We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!' 3 A Washington Redskins fan looks on before their game against the Tennessee Titans at FedEx Field on October 19, 2014 in Landover, Maryland. Getty Images Advertisement The Cleveland Guardians had rebranded away from their old name, the Cleveland Indians, in 2020 — after dropping the 'Chief Wahoo' logo years earlier. That same year, after long resisting pressure to do so, the Washington Commanders retired the old name, the Washington Redskins. For two years, they played as the Washington Football Team before eventually deciding to call themselves the Commanders in 2022.
The Hill
8 minutes ago
- The Hill
O'Rourke undecided on if he'll run for Senate seat in 2026
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) said on Sunday that he has not yet decided whether to run for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2026. 'I don't know,' O'Rourke said in an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union,' when asked if he plans to run for Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) Senate seat, which is up for reelection next year. 'Right now, I'm holding these town halls all over the state of Texas, across the country to listen to people to bring them together and to channel our anger into action, registering people to vote, organizing with voters right now,' he continued. O'Rourke — who ran unsuccessful bids for senator in 2018, for president in 2020, and Texas governor in 2022 — said he's optimistic about Democrats' chances next year. 'But I'm very optimistic about Democrats' opportunity in 2026,' O'Rourke said. 'In Trump's last midterm in 2018, when I was running against Ted Cruz, not only did we come close to defeating the sitting senator, but 12 insurgent Democrats defeated 12 incumbent Republicans in the state House,' he added, referring to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). O'Rourke pointed to Texas Reps. Colin Allred and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher as examples of Democrats who 'defeated entrenched well-funded Republicans' in the 2018 midterms. Allred lost his Senate bid against Cruz in 2024 and has recently announced that he will run against Cornyn's Senate seat in 2026. 'You had 17 black women win judicial positions in Harris County, in Houston, Texas,' he continued. 'It was transformational for the state of Texas.' 'There will be a price for this extremism from Donald Trump from the people that he's hurting across the country right now. And I think we will see that play out in 2026,' O'Rourke said.
