Trump Ousts Mike Waltz As NSA After Yemen Chat Leak, Makes Him UN Ambassador

<p>US President Donald Trump on Thursday ousted his national security adviser Mike Waltz in the first major shakeup of Trump’s inner circle since he assumed office in January. However, he nominated Waltz to be the next US Ambassador to the United Nations, saying that “he has worked hard to put our nation’s interests first.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Trump made the announcement on a social media post on Truth, saying: “I am pleasaed to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s interest first. I know he will do the same in his next role.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been named as Waltz’s interim replacement.&nbsp;</p>
<p>”In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue fight tirelessly yo Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he addded.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Waltz, a retired Army Green Beret and former Republican lawmaker from Florida, received criticism after getting caught up in a controversy involving a Signal chat among top national security aides. He was blamed for accidentally adding the editor of The Atlantic magazine to a private chat where details of Yemen airstrike were shared.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Following this controversy, a Cabinet meeting was held with Waltz after which Trump expressed his displeasure over the chat leak, saying that such conversations should be held in a secure setting. However, he and others in the White House publicly expressed confidence in Waltz at the time, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Rubio will be the first person since the 1970s to hold the positions of secretary of state and national security adviser simultaneously after Henry Kissinger.<br /><br />”When I have a problem, I call up Marco. He gets it solved,” Trump said at a White House event earlier on Thursday.<br /><br />Waltz’s ouster comes after a month of turmoil within Trump’s national security establishment. At least 20 NSC staffers have been fired since April 1. The director of the National Security Agency has also been dismissed and three high-ranking Pentagon political appointees have been ousted, Reuters reported.</p>