Michael Waltz to face 'Signalgate' grilling in hearing for top UN post
The Senate-confirmed position is higher profile. And it comes with a cushy New York apartment. But unlike eight years ago, when future presidential candidate Nikki Haley held the job, Trump has decided against making it a top role.
That could help Waltz, who's expected to get a grilling from Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at his nomination hearing on July 15. The lower designation will allow Waltz to testify alongside two other Trump nominees.
Waltz's testimony will still be the focal point of the hearing. The former Trump aide was one of the president's more hawkish advisers. He is almost certain to face difficult questions about the president's approach to foes such as Russia and Iran -- not to mention Trump's criticisms of United Nations leadership and his withdrawal from the institution's human rights council.
"This will be a chance for senators to question the former national security advisor and nominee to be U.N. ambassador, which has historically been a significant foreign policy post," Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat who sits on the committee, told USA TODAY last week.
He said that likely topics will be Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and ongoing tension between the U.S. and its allies over Trump's stinging tariffs.
Still, the toughest questions Waltz could face are over the text messages in which senior officials discussed strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen before they'd happened. Waltz inadvertently invited a journalist to the chat in an encrypted text messaging app.
"He will be asked several times by several senators about his misuse of Signal," Coons said, referring to the commercially available encrypted messaging app.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vance and other Cabinet officials weighed in on strikes while in the unsecure chain.
Waltz took "full responsibility" for the blunder, after it came to light. Trump initially declined to fire him or anyone else over the incident. He fired scores of staff members later in a National Security Council shakeup.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, an ally of Waltz' who served with him in the House, acknowledged that Democrats were likely to zero in on the Signal scandal.
"Yet what are they bringing up? An entirely successful military operation, that was precise, that no Americans or American infrastructure or interests were harmed in any kind of way? In the end, that's what he has to answer for," Mast said in an interview.
U. N. role remained vacant for months
Trump said on May 1 that he would nominate Waltz as his United Nations ambassador, hours after news outlets reported on his ouster.
Yet, he did not officially do so for more than a month, raising questions about whether Waltz still had Trump's backing for the job.
The president yanked his first pick, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, in late March amid concerns about the GOP's narrow House majority.
Trump eventually signed the necessary paperwork for Waltz in mid-June after USA TODAY asked the White House why Trump had not formally put him forward.
Career diplomat Dorothy Shea has represented the United States at the United Nations for the past six months.
More: Trump shakes up national security team: Waltz tapped for UN post
Trump demotes ambassador role
United Nations ambassadors have often served in presidential Cabinets.
Trump's first United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, had an official seat at the table. But the Republican president downgraded the position after the former South Carolina governor left the job.
A White House official who was not authorized to go on the record confirmed to USA TODAY that the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. role would not be part of the Cabinet.
That means that Waltz will report to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who's been acting as Trump's national security adviser since the switch occurred on May 1.
Mast said the role is still a "tremendous stepping stool" for Waltz, a former Green Beret and Florida congressman who served on the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees.
"It's also a Senate-confirmed position, which puts him under a different level of scrutiny," Mast said. "It's a very different role than what he was doing previously."
Waltz will need a simple majority of senators to vote in his favor in the chamber where the GOP holds the majority in order to be confirmed.
Sen. Bill Haggerty, a Tennessee Republican who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan, said he expected Waltz to have a successful hearing.
He'll have "a big challenge dealing with the United Nations," Haggerty said. He told USA TODAY: "Mike's a competent professional."
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Metro
21 minutes ago
- Metro
What could happen if Trump, Putin and Zelensky meet?
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Daily Mirror
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
MIKEY SMITH: 10 unhinged Donald Trump moments as he makes brazen bid to rig next election
Here's everything that happened in Trump World in the last 24 hours that you need to know about - including how he's trying to rig the mid-terms and not even being subtle about it Donald Trump is trying to rig the 2026 mid-term elections and isn't even being subtle about it. It started last week when the President ordered lawmakers in several states to look at how they could re-draw constituency boundaries to benefit Republican candidates. And he's followed that up today by proudly announcing plans to re-do the census early, and ignore a huge chunk of the population when deciding how many seats are given to each state. Meanwhile, Tim Apple gave Daddy Trump a big block of gold. And Trump's plan to gradually morph the White House into a replica of Mar A Lago continued. Here's everything that happened in Trump World in the last 24 hours that you need to know about. Strap in. 1. Suddenly, it all makes census The latest in Donald Trump's moves to rig the 2026 midterms is a biggie. He wants to re-do the census - and not bother to count millions of people. The number of House seats dished out to states by population, based on the most recent census - which was done in 2020. The constitution requires one be done every 10 years - and for Congress to be in charge of it. But today Trump posted on Truth Social that he'd ordered the Commerce Department to "immediately" begin working on a new one. He called for a "new and highly accurate" census "based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024." It is thus far unclear what that means. But the following bit is super clear. "People who are in our country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS". Now, you may thing - well, undocumented people can't vote, why should they be counted for the purpose of apportioning seats? To which I'd point out that even now loads of people who can't vote are counted in the statistics - including children, felons and people who aren't registered to vote. Also, at the time of writing there was another group of people who were not eligible to vote, and the constitution counted three fifths of them. They still live in these places, and should probably be represented by someone. How much of a difference could it make? Well, Pew did an analysis of what would happen if undocumented people were removed from the 2020 census. At the time it would have seen three states lose a seat each. Worth noting Trump tried to do this in 2020, but it was struck down by the courts, who said it exceeded his authority. A panel of three judges ruled it was so obviously illegal that a lawsuit challenging the order didn't even need to go to trial. 2. Get Nicholas Cage on the phone, because bits of the constitution have gone missing Speaking of the Constitution, some important bits of it went missing yesterday. The Library of Congress blamed a "coding error" for a chunk of Article 1, Section 8 and the entirety of Sections 9 and 10 being removed from the text of the constitution on the US government's official website. They were restored last night. It would be easy to put down to a glitch, were it not for the contents of section 9. Section 9 places limits on congressional power, including a critical line that "the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public safety may require it." In short, everyone detained by the state gets the right to a hearing to challenge whether that detention is lawful. Stephen Miller, Trump's advisor and the Renfield to his Dracula, has called for Habeas Corpus to be suspended because the US is being "invaded" by immigration. Section 10 discusses the powers denied to the states. 3. Tim Cook gives Trump a big block of gold It's basic - almost cliche - these days to critique modern-day Apple by saying "Steve Jobs would never have done this." But seriously, I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs would never have given Donald Trump a large block of gold. That's what boss Tim Cook did last night. The iPhone boss is the latest in a string of tech CEOs to lay it on thick for the "transactional" President, hoping to keep him sweet and avoid his wrath. The tech boss stood alongside Trump in the Oval and announced Apple would increase investment in US manufacturing by $100m over the next four years. After they spoke, Cook - whom Trump once referred to as "Tim Apple" - gave the President a desk ornament made from glass manufactured in a Kentucky factory they plan to use for iPhone parts - with a huge base made of 24 carat gold. 4. Trump and Putin could meet next Trump and Putin could meet as soon as next week. 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Everything's going tariffic Trump proudly announced his tariffs on dozens of countries were about to kick in last as the economic fallout of his months long tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the US economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States. "I think the growth is going to be unprecedented," Trump said Wednesday. He said the U.S. was "taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs," but did not provide a specific figure for revenues because "we don't even know what the final number is" regarding the rates. Despite the uncertainty, the White House is confident that the onset of his tariffs will provide clarity about the path for the world's largest economy. Now that companies understand the direction the U.S. is headed, the Republican administration believes it can ramp up new investments and jump-start hiring in ways that can rebalance America as a manufacturing power. So far, however, there are signs of self-inflicted wounds to the U.S. as companies and consumers brace for the impact of the new taxes. Hiring began to stall, inflationary pressures crept upward and home values in key markets started to decline after the initial tariff rollout in April, said John Silvia, CEO of Dynamic Economic Strategy. "A less productive economy requires fewer workers," Silvia said. "But there is more, the higher tariff prices lower workers' real wages. The economy has become less productive, and firms cannot pay the same real wages as before. Actions have consequences." Many economists say the risk is that the American economy is steadily eroded. "It's going to be fine sand in the gears and slow things down," said Brad Jensen, a professor at Georgetown University. 6. The Summer Mar A Lago Donald Trump has made another change to the White House - and his plan is becoming even more clear. The US President has been talking exuberantly about his plan to give the White House "much needed renovations" during his presidency. During his first Presidency, Trump was reported to have complained that the White House is not to his taste - allegedly branding it "a real dump". So this time around he's decided to make some changes. The first and most obvious change was the lashings of gold he applied to the Oval Office. He also added a pair of enormous mirrors to the walls of the most famous office in the world. And his latest change has made it clear that what he's actually trying to do is make the so-called People's House into a replica of Mar A Lago, his Palm Beach resort and clubhouse - which he frequently calls his "winter White House". Trump famously loves holding court on the patio at Mar A Lago, glad-handing with hangers-on and holding court for people trying to gain his favour. So when he made the decision to pave over the White House's iconic rose garden to create a white patio, it raised many eyebrows. And last night, suspicions were confirmed as tables, chairs and umbrellas appeared on the new patio. The chairs and and yellow and white umbrellas are identical to those found on the Mar A Lago terrace. 7. Trump jumps on Farage's failed 'debunking' bandwagon You'll recall a couple of years back, Nigel Farage had a big old sob story about being rejected for a fancy bank account by a fancy bank. It was supposed to be this big scandal that was going to be a stake through the heart of BIG BANK, presumably to pave the way for the return of cash, or gold, or crypto or whatever. Anyway, nobody much cared if a very wealthy man got rejected by a posh bank because he kept saying and doing offensive and unpleasant things that made him a reputational risk. And so the de-banking scandal in the UK ended before it began. Well, clearly running out of things to talk about that aren't the Epstein files, Trump will this evening make an announcement about de-banking. A new executive order directs the Treasury and regulators to take action to prevent banks from cutting off customers for political reasons. It also directs regulators to retroactively review whether banks have in the past illegally closed accounts for political or religious reasons. There's no evidence that banks have done this on any kind of scale. But Trump claims it has been done to him. He claims JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America have rejected more than $1 billion of his deposits. And The Trump Organisation has sued Capital One, accusing them of cutting off access to the president's family business following the January 6th insurrection. The bank denies the allegation. "The banks discriminated against me very badly," he claimed in an interview on Tuesday - going on to claim without evidence that the Biden administration had instructed regulators to "do everything you can to destroy Trump." 8. Elect clowns, expect a circus... Education Secretary and former Pro Wrestling boss Linda McMahon was doing a Q&A at the National Conservative Student Conference yesterday. I didn't watch the whole speech, maybe she explained how it feels to be a cabinet secretary for a department Trump has vowed to abolish. Maybe. Anyway, all was going fine until a voice came out of nowhere and heckled McMahon as a "corrupt billionaire". Then there was the sound of circus music. Then the theme from Curb Your Enthusiasm. Turns out someone planted some hidden speakers in the auditorium and was feeding audio to it during the interview. Please enjoy: 9. Trump who? Never heard of him... New details have emerged about what Ghislaine Maxwell said about Donald Trump in a prison interview last month. Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison on sex trafficking charges linked to America's most notorious paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has faced mounting pressure for transparency about Epstein - amid widespread speculation that he was named in FBI files related to the case. So last month Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche set up a two-day interview with Maxwell, Epstein's fixer, who was accused of recruiting young girls for him to abuse. Before getting the No 2 job at the Justice Department, Blanche was Donald Trump's personal defence lawyer. Meanwhile, CBS News reports Maxwell said "nothing" during the 9 hours of interviews with Blanche that would "be harmful to President Trump." Citing a source familiar with the exchange, CBS claims Maxwell said " nothing in her presence that would implicate him." Last night senior officials from Trump's team were said to have been gathering at JD Vance's house to discuss what to do next on Epstein. The group meeting at JD Vance's house - which is expected to include top figures including Blanche, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and the Vice President himself - was expected to discuss whether to release audio recordings or transcripts of some or all of the interview. But in the Oval Office last night, Vance denied the meeting was to take place, branding it "fake news". Get Donald Trump updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the world attempts to keep up with Trump's antics, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news from across the pond. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 10. Starmer says Trump agrees on online safety Keir Starmer says Donald Trump agrees with him on new online safety laws - saying both leaders want to protect children from harmful content online. It suggests a further rift between Nigel Farage and his friend the US President - after Reform UK vowed to scrap new rules introduced last week. The rules aim to prevent children from seeing harmful or inappropriate content online. Farage has argued the new rules would suppress free speech. But Mr Starmer said there was "more agreement" between him and Trump than might have been expected, in an interview with 5 News yesterday. When the pair met in Scotland last week, the PM said, he'd told Trump he was "in favour of free speech, of course. "But I said but I'm also in favour of protecting our children and I think that's really important. That's not a free speech issue as far as I'm concerned." He said there was "more agreement between me and the President than you might think because he too understands that you have to protect children." Mr Starmer went on: "I think that when it comes to children and protecting them from real harm including sexual exploitation there's just got to be a clear line. "We have to protect our children, of course, at the same time as championing free speech more generally." Trump even joked about the online safety measures during a Q&A with the two leader in Turnberry, Ayrshire. "I cannot imagine (Starmer) censoring Truth Social," Trump said. "I only say good things about him and his country."
Channel 4
an hour ago
- Channel 4
Trump to meet Putin – can there be peace in Ukraine?
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a face to face meeting at an undisclosed location next week, in the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite Trump having a somewhat healthy relationship with Putin during his first term as President, it has since soured after coming to power again. After promising he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, he slowly realised that it is Putin and not Zelenskyy whose intent on continuing the conflict. Trump has traded on being a deal maker and has previously likened Ukraine to his specialist area – real estate. His tactic, famously outlined in his book 'The Art of the Deal' – is to exert maximum pressure before striking an agreement.
