The Senate on Friday confirmed Mike Waltz as President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, filling a key post just days before the United Nations General Assembly kicks off in New York next week.
Waltz’s nomination was delayed for months amid pushback from some Senate Democrats, although Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
The confirmation allows Waltz to attend the U.N.’s annual, high-level dialogue, where leaders from the 193-member states descend on New York for an intensive week of diplomacy and public posturing where top line issues are likely to focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war conduct in the Gaza Strip.
Waltz was tapped for the role in May after being dismissed as Trump’s national security advisor amid fallout for his part in the so-called Signal scandal . Waltz inadvertently invited a journalist into a group chat with Trump’s top national security officials where they detailed military strikes against Yemen.
The episode was highly embarrassing for Trump’s officials and potentially dangerous over its careless handling of sensitive military information. Some Senate Democrats had promised a “brutal” confirmation hearing for Waltz for the U.N. post, he emerged largely unscathed.
Some Democrats criticized him for an “amateurish” move on the Signal chat, but said he was largely qualified for the position given his long history of service to the U.S., as a former Army colonel, Green Beret and three-term Republican congressman.
Democrats also expressed hope that Waltz would engage with the U.N., in particular to counter China’s influence, at a time when the Trump administration is retreating from the body over what it criticizes as a fixation on demonizing Israel and giving a platform to human rights abusers like Iran.
Sen. Rand Paul
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