Trump previously announced that he had appointed Waltz as UN ambassador and that his national security adviser would resign from his post.
Vice President JD Vance rejected allegations that national security adviser Mike Waltz was banished from his post due to a March dispute where national security information was leaked.
“He didn’t let go,” Vance told Fox News’ Brett Baier in an interview aired on May 1.
“I am pleased to announce that I will nominate Mike Waltz as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. As a uniform on the battlefield, in Congress, and as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz worked hard to put our nation’s interests first.
In the same post, the president said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will continue to run the State Department and serve as national security adviser until a new advisor is selected.
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America and the world safe again. Thank you for paying attention to this issue!” Trump said.
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Some media framed the move as a quiet end to the waltz, attributed to his role in the March controversy, which was added to the signal chat where Atlantic editor Jonah Goldberg was debated. The White House has repeatedly said that the information classified in the chat has not been shared.
“Look, the media wants to frame this as a firing,” Vance said. “Donald Trump fired a lot of people. He will not give them any appointments that are in favour of the Senate since then. What he thinks is that Mike Waltz will provide better service to the administration and most importantly the Americans in his role.”
Vance said the change in Waltz’s role came because Waltz fulfilled Trump’s hopes for the candidate.
“The president had some serious problems with the National Security Council in his first term,” Vance said.
Vance said Trump’s main mandate on the waltz in this role is, “Go here (and) a fire… Many people who don’t believe that many people who are not loyal to my agenda are not loyal to the American people, actually bring in the right collection of people to create the function of the National Security Council.
“Mike did that, and now it’s time for Mike to do something else.
Vance also rejected rumors that Defense Secretary Pete Hegses would also be asked to step down.
“Pete Hegses is safe,” Vance said in response to a question from Baier about whether other changes are coming to the national security field.
“I think the most underestimated thing about Pete Hegses is that they came to the military with serious morale issues, recruitment and retention goals. Most of the key services have brought specific Esprit de Corporations.
