The year is 2019. President Donald Trump has fired his hawkish national security adviser for being an obstruction to diplomacy. The year is 2025. President Donald Trump has demoted his hawkish national security adviser for being an obstruction to diplomacy.
Trump announced in a May 1 post to Truth Social that Mike Waltz, formerly national security adviser, will now serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take over the White House's National Security Council in the interim. Although Trump praised Waltz's service, the move was clearly a demotion, and officials told CNN that Trump had "lost confidence" in Waltz.
The firing came after a free-for-all struggle over foreign policy staffing involving Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Waltz stands out as a hawk among the three. Although Hegseth is far from a principled peace dove, he pushed back on plans to attack Iran. And Witkoff, who seems to have supplanted even Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Trump's most trusted diplomat, is negotiating to wind down several wars.
