Latest news with #AlexWong
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Will Trump's China policy become more unpredictable after national security shake-up?
Donald Trump 's shake-up of the US National Security Council may be a sign he is increasingly relying on his instinct over expert advice, potentially increasing the unpredictability in Washington's approach to China, diplomatic observers have said. The shake-up could also be 'bad news' for Taiwan , which may find it harder to speak to key people in the White House, they added. The White House dismissed around 100 staff from the council last week – many from the China team – as part of Trump's wider overhaul of the federal government. The NSC swelled to over 300 staff under Joe Biden, but Trump's eventual goal is to reduce it to 50. Earlier this month national security adviser Mike Waltz was removed from his post after sharing classified information through the messaging app Signal and reportedly disagreeing with Trump over some aspects of foreign policy. Alex Wong, another known China hawk and former deputy national security adviser, has also been reassigned to another role, according to The Washington Post.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump fires national security adviser Mike Waltz as bombshell report details toxic atmosphere in White House after leak scandal
President Donald Trump will fire Mike Waltz as his national security adviser in the first ousting of a cabinet secretary in this administration, the Daily Mail confirmed. It comes weeks after Waltz unwittingly added a journalist to a highly sensitive group chat on the Signal app detailing bomb strike plans against Houthis in Yemen. The mistake quickly devolved into the biggest scandal of Trump's second term so far and left the president grappling with negative press fallout. A source told the Daily Mail that Waltz's departure is expected and Trump will likely announce it very soon. Speculation mounted that he could be replaced by Trump's current special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has held several meetings with Vladimir Putin. Journalist Mark Halperin first reported on his 2Way YouTube show that there was 'unhappiness throughout the national security establishment' with Waltz and his deputy national security adviser Alex Wong due to the Signal breach of security. 'This has to do about competence, not ideology,' he said. Halperin specified that the timing was uncertain, noting that the president had not settled on a replacement. 'I do believe he has made up his mind, but he could change his mind,' he said. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council did not respond to a Daily Mail request for comment. Waltz appeared in an interview on Fox and Friends Thursday morning, giving no indication that he was about to lose his job. He trumpeted the completion of a rare minerals deal with Ukraine as 'good for the American taxpayer' and 'good for Ukraine' to help it grow their economic development and security. It is unclear why Waltz was fired or the timing of the breaking news. Walz was caught by photographers checking his Signal account during the president's cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Waltz also participated in a Cabinet meeting hosted by Trump on Wednesday. He had kept his job despite the 'Signalgate' scandal in March. Waltz was responsible for mistakenly adding Atlantic editor Jeffery Goldberg to a Signal chat with 17 high-ranking officials about military strikes in Yemen. Goldberg published the digital messages in full at The Atlantic, leading to weeks of negative news coverage of the administration and calling into question Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth 's leadership. Trump did not fire Waltz at the time, partially because he did not want to give Goldberg the satisfaction. But Waltz suffered public humiliation from the scandal especially after his embarrassing Fox News interview in which he tried to to explain the mistake. It also damaged his reputation in the West Wing. Waltz took responsibility for the mistake, but struggled to explain how Goldberg's number was in his phone to begin with, even as he stressed that he had never spoken to him before. 'Well, if you have somebody else's contact and then it, and then somehow it gets sucked in,' he said to Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Trump gave Waltz a less than enthusiastic endorsement in an interview with The Atlantic last week. 'Waltz is fine. I mean, he's here. He just left this office,' Trump said. 'He's fine. He was beat up also.' Waltz's ouster takes place after journalist and Trump loyalist Laura Loomer met with the president in early April to share information she had about members on his national security council staff. Several people were fired from the National Security council after the president's meeting with Loomer, but Trump said his decision was not a result of her reporting. 'Laura Loomer is a great patriot. She's a very strong person,' Trump said. 'She's been in the party a long time, she's done a good job,' he later added. Loomer revealed to journalist Tara Palmeri that she wanted to play an old video for the president of Waltz trashing Trump when he first ran for president.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Laura Loomer Takes Victory Lap After Waltz's Ouster and Calls for More Blood
MAGA diehard Laura Loomer celebrated the ouster of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz from President Donald Trump's cabinet on Thursday and called for more heads to roll. Loomer, 31, claimed credit for the firing of Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, whom she targeted in a flurry of critical posts in March that accused him, the son of Chinese immigrants, of advancing Chinese interests over America's. 'Hopefully, the rest of the people who were set to be fired but were given promotions at the NSC under Waltz also depart,' Loomer wrote on Thursday. Loomer shared a later post about Wong's firing with the word 'SCALP.' Loomer traveled to Washington to meet with Trump on April 3. That same day, Trump fired multiple officials from the National Security Council but left Waltz untouched for the time being. The NSC purge was proof that Loomer, a member of the MAGA fringe who briefly was the center of Trump affair rumors during last year's campaign, had the president's ear. Loomer reacted to Waltz's firing with a one-word text to Politico: 'Loomered.' Use of the verb gained steam after the initial NSC firings. It was spreading again on Thursday, with pundits on both Fox News and CNN using it to describe what happened to Waltz, a 51-year-old who gave up his safe seat in Congress—in a deep-red Florida district—to join the Trump administration. Another Republican has already replaced him in Congress. Waltz had a rough time during his 100 days in office. His troubles began in March after The Atlantic reported he added its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a Signal group chat that discussed attack plans on targets in Yemen. The gaffe embarrassed the White House, but Trump still publicly backed Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Behind the scenes, however, Politico reported Thursday that Trump and his team began searching for Waltz's replacement. Loomer led calls for Waltz to resign or be axed, with MAGA momentum growing in support of such a move after a report revealed Waltz's Venmo contact list was chock-full of journalists and anti-Trump types. This, Loomer has said, was proof the Trump administration needed to vet its officials more stringently. She repeated this message on Thursday, too. 'VETTING MATTERS,' she wrote on X. 'Don't ever forget that.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reports: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, his deputy out, leaving White House posts
National security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, are leaving their posts in the White House, according to multiple sources including CBS and FOX. The men are expected to leave their positions in President Donald Trump's cabinet Thursday, according to CBS. Read more here. Waltz came under scrutiny in March after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< This story is developing. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who is Mike Waltz, Trump's security adviser likely to be fired for Signal chat leak
President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and his top deputy, Alex Wong, are likely to step down from their posts, US media reported on Thursday. Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong were both set to leave, CBS News reported, while Fox News said Trump was expected to comment on the matter soon. The former US congressman is the first major official to leave the administration in Trump's second term, which has so far been more stable in terms of personnel than his first. A White House official did not confirm the reports, saying that they "do not want to get ahead of any announcement." Waltz had been under pressure after the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic Magazine revealed in March that the national security adviser had mistakenly added him to a chat on the commercial messaging app Signal about attacks on Huthi rebels. The NSA later took 'full responsibility' for it and said: 'It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it.' However, he was later accused of using personal Gmail accounts for government communications. The incident drew backlash from senior officials and fueled internal concerns about operational security within Trump's national security apparatus.
