Mike Waltz’s reported fall from grace turned into a new, higher-profile job Thursday when President Trump announced that he is nominating him to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, moving him out of his post as White House national security advisor in a big administration shakeup.
Mr. Trump said on social media that Mr. Waltz “has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
The announcement pulled the rug out from under Capitol Hill Democrats who were celebrating early misreporting by the Washington press corps that Mr. Waltz had been fired.
The president also said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security adviser while maintaining his role as America’s top diplomat.
Mr. Waltz said on social media that he is “deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”
The changes come a month after Mr. Waltz took the blame for accidentally inviting a journalist into a Signal group chat where top officials discussed plans for an imminent U.S. military attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
SEE ALSO: Mike Waltz out as national security adviser
The U.N. job is open because Mr. Trump’s first pick, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, withdrew her nomination to help bolster House Republicans’ slim majority.
The president also plucked Mr. Waltz from Congress for the White House post. Mr. Waltz had served three terms representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District before taking the national security adviser position.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said she found out about Mr. Rubio’s new duties while she was briefing the press.
“One thing I’ve learned is that things don’t happen until the president says they’re going to happen,” Ms. Bruce told reporters at the State Department. “That is the miracle of modern technology and the social media.”
She said it was an “exciting moment here.”
Mr. Waltz’s new nomination was welcomed by Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee that will hold his confirmation hearing.
“Congratulations to my friend and fellow Floridian,
@MikeWaltz47! Mike will do a great job at the
@UN, working with our allies and putting America first,” Mr. Scott said on social media.
Ms. Stefanik was primed to become U.N. ambassador and even gave up her role as chair of the House Republican Conference. Mr. Trump pulled her nomination in March after concerns were raised that a vacancy in her New York seat could mean for the already razor-thin GOP majority in the House.
Earlier reports on Thursday said Mr. Waltz was getting booted from the position, along with his deputy Alex Wong.
Mr. Waltz’s position was first called into question after “Signalgate” when he inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, to the Signal group chat about bombing the Houthis.
Mr. Goldberg later published a story about what he learned in the chat, although after the missile strikes.
Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were also in the chat.
The administration denied that any classified information was shared. However, Mr. Goldberg published some of the messages that included the time of the strikes.
The messages include a text from Mr. Hegseth with the times and sequencing of planned U.S. strikes against Houthi rebels.
Mr. Waltz later took “full responsibility” for the incident, but President Trump stuck by him and didn’t ask anyone to step down.
Mr. Vance slammed Mr. Goldberg, saying he “oversold what he had.”
The administration maintained that the news media exaggerated the significance of the story, and the most important point was that the Houthi attack was successful.
Democrats said the incident was a firing offense and were frustrated that the president didn’t act accordingly. They also made Mr. Hegseth the chief target of blame for the error.
After the initial reports, Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said it was the right decision to fire Mr. Waltz, but “they’re firing the wrong guy. They should be firing Hegseth.”
“This is not a one-off. This is going to happen over and over and over again. And so I think they got to get rid of Hegseth. And if they were smart, they’d get rid of them right away,” Mr. Schumer said.
Democrats mostly fell silent after Mr. Trump announced the new nomination for Mr. Waltz.
Still, the Senate confirmation process will expose Mr. Waltz to more questions about the Signal mishap. Many of Mr. Trump’s nominees weathered contentious confirmation hearings, and this one will likely prove to be no different.
On social media, Sen. Chris Coons reposted a photo from a reporter showing Mr. Waltz’s phone on the Signal app during a Cabinet meeting. It showed snippets of messages from Mr. Rubio, special envoy Steke Witkoff, Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Vance.
In the caption, the Connecticut Democrat wrote, “I look forward to a thorough confirmation hearing.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.