Mike Waltz's demotion threatens grave consequences for America's allies
The reassignment of Mike Waltz from his post as Donald Trump's national security adviser to the job of ambassador to the United Nations could signal a shift in Trump's foreign policy – or it may just show that infighting among the rival factions is only getting worse.
A highly decorated former Army Special Forces veteran of Afghanistan and adviser to Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Robert Gates, before succeeding Ron DeSantis in Congress, Waltz has long staked out hawkish views of the threats posed by China and Iran. That put him at odds with the increasingly vocal dovish faction in the administration, which includes vice-president JD Vance and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, as well as close Vance ally Donald Trump Jr.
Waltz's demotion leaves the more hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio largely isolated in Trump's national security team; Rubio will now serve as interim national security adviser as well as Secretary of State, acting national archivist, and interim head of the United States Agency for International Development.
Waltz wasn't necessarily demoted over his ideas. He has been on shaky ground ever since accidentally adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat in which details of an upcoming strike on the Houthis were discussed. Defence secretary Pete Hegseth, also under fire for sharing sensitive combat plans in that chat and another, has survived thus far, but over a dozen members of his inner circle have already lost their jobs amid controversies over press leaks. Although more broadly aligned with the doves, Hegseth is increasingly mistrusted by both factions.
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