National security adviser Mike Waltz has been ousted from Trump’s presidential cabinet due to the scandalous Signal messages leak in March. This marks the administration’s first cabinet shake-up.
While the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) eliminated more than 280,000 federal jobs across twenty-seven agencies, and President Donald Trump has fired dozens of government officials, including the head of the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command, the president’s cabinet survived the first 100 days.
The streak may have ended on Thursday, as it is reported that Trump could oust national security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong, apparently over a loss of confidence.
Multiple sources have said that Trump has been debating who could fill Waltz’s role, should the decision be made to fire the former Florida congressman. Waltz has likely been in the administration’s crosshairs since he mistakenly included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on a Signal group chat in March that included other high-ranking officials in which impending strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were discussed.
“Names for a replacement have been discussed around the West Wing for weeks, but the plans to remove Waltz, potentially as soon as this week, gained steam in recent days, according to two of the people and another person close to the White House,” Politico reported on Thursday morning.
“We are not going to respond to reporting from anonymous sources,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded when asked for comment by Politico.
Mike Waltz Wasn’t the Only National Security Adviser to Get Axed
Should Waltz get the axe, he would be the first senior-level official fired since Trump returned to the White House in January. His tenure in the position was still significantly longer than that of Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, U.S. Army, who served just twenty-four days, the shortest in the history of the national security adviser position.
This would be the first major shakeup of Trump’s second administration. During Trump’s first four-year term, there was 92 percent turnover by January 20, 2021, the highest of any modern administration.
It significantly outpaced the 78 percent turnover of Ronald Reagan’s two terms and the 74 percent of Bill Clinton’s eight years in office.
Mike Waltz Took the Fall for “Signalgate”
There has been growing speculation that someone had to answer for “Signalgate,” with Waltz being the most likely cabinet official to face termination, as he was the one who added Goldberg to the call.
“While the resignations of Mike Waltz and his principal deputy are warranted, their behavior is just a symptom of a much deeper and systemic problem within this administration—a complete disregard for transparency, federall records laws, and the responsibility to protect our national security,” interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu from the independent government watchdog American Oversight said in a statement.
“It speaks volumes that President Trump views the original sin as the addition of a reporter to the Signal chat, rather than the reckless and illegal use of Signal’s auto-deleting feature for highly sensitive national security discussions—conduct that put the safety of our brave men and women in uniform at risk,” Chukwu added.
American Oversight is continuing its litigation against the administration.
“The American people deserve nothing less,” said Chukwu.
About Mike Waltz, the Now Former National Security Adviser
The fifty-one-year-old Waltz is a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer, earning four Bronze Stars for his combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He previously severed as a defense policy director with the Department of Defense (DoD) during administration of George W. Bush, and was a counterterrorism adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Waltz was elected to the House of Representatives, succeeding Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Sunshine State’s Sixth District. During his time in Congress, he was chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. He was reelected in 2024, receiving 66.5 percent of the vote, but stepped down after being named national security adviser.
It is unclear who might replace Waltz, but several names have already been floated, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is overseeing negotiations with Russia, Iran, and Hamas; policy adviser Stephen Miller; National Security Council senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka; and special envoy Richard Grenell. All are noted to be Trump loyalists, which puts them on any shortlist.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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