This week, President Donald Trump relieved Michael Waltz of his post as National Security Advisor. In a corresponding move, Trump nominated him to be the United States Representative to the United Nations. The president praised Waltz’s work and exclaimed that he deserved the honor of being nominated and chosen to represent the U.S. at the UN. A promotion? Hardly. A lateral move? Not on your life.

This was a clear demotion and one-way ticket out of Washington for Waltz after the embarrassing Signalgate fiasco and his inability to play with others nicely. So, he is out, and there is rampant speculation about his replacement. Or might the Trump White House decide to change the structure of his national security team?. How will the fallout from his ouster and Waltz’s actions, in general, affect his congressional confirmation hearings to become the next UN Ambassador?

Signalgate

By now, I’m sure I don’t have to repeat the Signalgate story. That was the ill-fated March 15th unsecured chat initiated by Waltz on the Signal messaging service that discussed the airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. People on the chat included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who was leading the chat, and other national security leaders.

Waltz also inadvertently sent a chat invite to Atlantic Magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, mistakenly thinking it was sent to then-Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes. Once news of the chat was leaked, the White House started a massive denial campaign until Goldberg was forced to expose the incident in his magazine. It later was discovered that Waltz had conducted further Signal app discussions with other cabinet members to coordinate official work on issues involving Ukraine, China, the Middle East, and other areas of concern.

Waltz Angers the Iron Lady

However, what sealed his departure was his less-than-cordial relationship with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. He ran afoul of Ms. Wiles on several occasions, starting with a February meeting between Waltz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At that meeting, the National Security Advisor agreed with Netanyahu on the need for imminent missile strikes on Iran. This ran counter to the president’s immediate intentions, and Wiles reminded him of that.

Insiders also report that Waltz did not show proper deference to Wiles, who rules with an iron fist and is fiercely loyal to Trump. Vice President Vance tried to caution Waltz about his behavior when he brought him along on his trip to Greenland, but the situation at the White House continued to worsen. Ultimately, Wiles felt he was not a good fit for the president and did not always represent his best interests. Then, the discussion intensified on how to find a soft landing for him.

Waltz Replacement and Confirmation Hearings

Rubio was named Trump’s interim National Security Advisor, and the Beltway is anxiously watching how the Secretary of State juggles his current roles. Besides his responsibilities at State and with the president’s national security team, Trump has also named him acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and acting archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration.  

Possible replacements for Waltz include Trump’s special envoy Steven Witkoff, Michael Anton from the State Department, and Ric Grenell, who was one of the candidates for the position before it was offered to Waltz. But perhaps the top contender is Rubio himself. Much to everyone’s surprise, he has toed the Trump policy line and the president has referred to his Secretary of State as his problem-solver.

As for Waltz, Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth promised he will have a “brutal confirmation hearing” after his departure last week from the White House. Duckworth yesterday told “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that

“He’s not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain. Now, Mike Waltz is doing what we call — he is failing up. He is failing in his job and getting promoted to be ambassador. That’s not what our nation needs at the United Nations.”