Trump Nominates Waltz for UN Ambassador After National Security Ouster

Political observers had assumed Thursday that White House officials deemed National Security Adviser Michael Waltz unqualified for a top Trump administration position after he was fired following the "Signalgate" scandal.

But in what one analyst called a "surprise twist," Waltz's dismissal actually freed him up for another high-level role: that of United Nations ambassador.

Soon after sources leaked the news that Waltz had been dismissed, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he was nominating the national security adviser to be his ambassador.

Waltz was removed from the national security position in the wake of the scandal that's also embroiled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other administration officials.

He organized a group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal in which officials discussed plans to bomb Yemen in March and inadvertently added the journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the discussion.

It was later reported that Waltz and his staff had created at least 20 group chats using the app to discuss sensitive foreign policy issues, prompting calls for his resignation.

"Now Waltz can share sensitive U.S. military secrets on Signal chats with not just journalists—but all 193 countries of the world," said lawyer and commentator Tristan Snell after the new nomination was announced.

Journalist Jamie Dupree noted that when Waltz meets with senators for his confirmation hearings, he is likely to face "all sorts of questions about the Signalgate episode" from Democrats.

In his announcement, Trump said Waltz "has worked hard to put our nation's interests first" and expressed confidence that he will do the same as U.N. ambassador. He named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Waltz's temporary replacement as national security adviser.

Trump previously named Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to be his U.N. ambassador but withdrew her nomination in March, citing the Republicans' narrow majority in the House.