Trump says he wants to have his national security adviser at the UN

The incident of a Waltz text chat with a journalist was accidentally invited into a chat with another person: “We’ve learned not to use Signal”

Waltz will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the UN position. The UN spot has been vacant since Trump asked his first nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to instead stay in Congress to help preserve the narrow majority Republicans hold in the House of Representatives.

Trump said on social media that he would make Marco Rubio his interim national security adviser — a role that will come on top of his existing job, Secretary of State.

It’s very unusual for one person to hold both major roles. The confirmation of the U.S. Senate will be important to Waltz’ new job. Critics have expressed concern after a journalist was accidentally invited into a text chat with another person discussing military plans.

Trump had initially defended Waltz — who took responsibility for the mishap — and downplayed the incident as a “glitch.” He was complimentary of Waltz in his announcement on Thursday, saying he had “worked hard to put our nation’s interests first.”

Trump told The Atlantic in an interview last week that “Waltz is fine” when asked about his future. I think we learned not to use signal. You want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people.”

Timing the First 100 Days of Donald Trump’s White House: What he and Tammy Bruce thought about Nixon and the Kushner era

As the 100th day of his presidency approached, Trump leaned more on other key staff for national security issues including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

Afterhours of rumors, Trump’s announcement came after Tammy Bruce spoke to reporters at the State Department. “We have to admit, these last 100 days — it’s like hanging on to a freaking bullet train,” Bruce told reporters.

Before taking the White House job, Waltz served as chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on readiness and was a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

It’s not atypical for the Trump administration. And I watched it during the first term — and I watched it with a great deal of awe because I had not seen it in prior administrations,” Tenpas said.

Trump has been known to give people he trusts multiple positions at the same time. In his first term, his budget director Mick Mulvaney was also in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, noted Katie Dunn Tenpas, an expert on presidential personnel at the Brookings Institution.

“Some Americans thought Kissinger had too much power and persuaded President Ford to strip him of his White House title in late 1975,” presidential historian Michael Beschloss said.

The last person to simultaneously be Secretary of State and national security adviser was Henry Kissinger, during the Nixon era. He did both jobs for two years.

The New Vice President, Donald Trump, has given up on the ‘War of Hawks and Anti-hawks’ in the House of Representatives

The change in position was not the result of a conflict of views within the team. “I’ve heard people saying that this is a war between hawks and anti-hawks, new conservatives and the realists, however that’s not what this is about at all,” he said.

The media wants to make it seem like this is a firing. Donald Trump has fired a lot of people. He doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterwards,” Vance said.

Trump has yet to speak to reporters about his decision. But Vice President Vance said in an interview that the change in roles had nothing to do with the group chat incident.

The UN spot has been vacant since Trump asked his first nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to instead stay in Congress to help preserve the narrow majority Republicans hold in the House of Representatives.