The US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will withdraw from his position along with his representative Alex Wong, according to CBS News and Reuters. The reports were also confirmed by the BBC, a media partner of CBS. This means the first significant departure from President Trump’s team leader during the second term.
“Signalgate” scandal
Mike Waltz’s departure follows intense check after admitting that unintentionally including Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic editor, to the signal group chat.
The chat, intended for higher officials of Trump’s administration, was established to discuss potential military actions against the Houth rebels in Yemen. Goldberg announced that Waltz had invited him to join the 11th March, and shortly afterwards he received the announcement that he would be part of the “small group Houthi PC”.
As part of this group Waltz, together with other Trump Administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Pete HegSeth, discussed the planned military actions against Houthi in Yemen in March 15, Hegseth shared specific surgery details, including their planned start time.
The incident, called “Signalgate”, caused concerns about possible violations in the operational security of Trump Administration.
US President Donald Trump previously downplayed security concerns and claimed that no classified information had been replaced in the cottage. However, members of the administration privately demanded Waltz’s resignation.
Despite the initial defense of Waltz Donald Trump, who describes him as a “good man” who “learned a lesson”, it seems that the administration has decided on its departure to detain the fall from the scandal.
It is not yet clear who will be the successor of Waltz, but the news suggests that the American special envoy of Steve Witkoff is a potential candidate. Witkoff participated in the Russian-Ukrainian diplomacy and negotiations in the Middle East.
Mike Waltz joined Donald Trump’s administration after serving for six years in Congress and represented the district in Florida. It is a former army green beret that served several tours in Afghanistan.
Trump passed four National Security advisors in his first term. His first National Security Advisor, retired general Michael Flynn, resigned after less than a month to work after revealing that in a mistake at that time vice -president Mike Pence about his communication with the Russian ambassador to the US.
(Tagstotranslate) Mike Waltz
