Mike Waltz’s nomination to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations cleared a key hurdle Thursday, inching the former National Security Advisor closer to getting confirmed by the Senate.
In a 12–10 vote, the GOP-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to recommend him to a full floor vote, with support from ranking member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) crossing the aisle.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), however, complicated efforts to advance Waltz’s nomination, agreeing to move him forward but without backing a recommendation — a move that prompted Republicans to court Shaheen.
Shaheen ultimately agreed to back him after the State Department agreed to unlock some $75 million in aid to Nigeria and Haiti.
She described him as a “moderating force” and vowed to hold him accountable going forward.
“In a Situation Room filled with people like Vice President Vance and Under Secretary Colby, who want to retreat from the world, and like Secretary Hegseth, I think we’re better off having someone like Mike Waltz present,” Shaheen told Axios.
Without Shaheen crossing party lines, Waltz’s nomination was poised to fail in a tie committee vote.
Paul, a Libertarian-leaning Republican, had fussed that Walz seemed too hawkish on foreign policy matters for his liking.
During a confirmation hearing, he pressed Waltz over his past efforts to keep troops in Afghanistan while he was serving in the House under the first Trump administration.
Looming over Waltz’s nomination had been Signalgate.
Back in March, while serving as national security adviser, Waltz inadvertently added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat to plan out strikes against the Houthis.
Goldberg later publicly released the messages sent on that chat, which included detailed information from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about US military strike plans for the mid-March attack.
President Trump later announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be filling in the national security adviser role and that he would tap Waltz for the UN ambassadorship.
Trump previously announced Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as his UN ambassador designate, but ultimately withdrew that nomination for fear Republicans could lose her House seat, threatening to winnow their razor-thin majority.
Dorothy Shea has been serving as the US ambassador to the UN in the interim.
Waltz had been pressed on Signalgate during his confirmation hearing by Democrats who questioned his judgment and subsequent handling of the debacle.
During the time between his departure from the national security adviser role to his Senate confirmation, Waltz had maintained a paycheck from the White House to remain as an adviser.