USA | Trump reshuffles power circles
US President Donald Trump has ordered the most sweeping personnel shakeup in his administration to date, recalling National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Waltz is to move from the White House in Washington to the United Nations in New York, where he will become the American ambassador—a relatively face-saving solution for both sides compared to previous personnel departures during Trump's first term. Apparently, the scandal surrounding a group chat on the commercial app Signal proved to be Waltz's downfall.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to temporarily assume Waltz's current position, thus moving even closer to Trump. He will advise the president on national security and foreign policy issues—effectively acting as an international crisis manager. The last official to simultaneously serve as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor was Henry Kissinger in the early 1970s.
Waltz under pressure after Signal scandalAccording to US media, the former Florida officer had long been out of favor in the White House. While Trump respected Waltz, he was reportedly not particularly satisfied with his work and personnel selection. The final straw was the scandal surrounding the Signal app's group chat among high-ranking government officials about impending attacks on the Houthi militia in Yemen.
In March, Waltz accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the US magazine "The Atlantic," to the chat, thus allowing the sensitive communication to end up in the press. The affair garnered highly unpleasant headlines for the government and left Waltz with a difficult explanation.
Waltz appeared less boisterous in public than some of Trump's inner circle. With regard to the war in Ukraine, he saw the European partners, in particular, as obligated to do more, and as a member of Congress last year voted against billions in new aid for Kyiv. At the same time, he is a sharp critic of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and, at least in the past, has openly questioned the seriousness of Russian offers of negotiation.
US Vice President Vance speaks of “promotion”With his transfer to New York, he was spared the fate of previous Trump protégés, who were completely disempowered and dismissed in disgrace by the president. While the UN post is not at the top of the power center in Washington, it does have cabinet rank.
In shaping US international policy, however, Waltz will likely play a secondary role in the future. It doesn't help that Trump's Vice President JD Vance is portraying the appointment as a "promotion." Waltz also has another hurdle to overcome: The new appointment to the UN ambassador position must be approved by the Senate. Although the Republicans hold a narrow majority there, Waltz will not be able to avoid the usual hearings before the vote.
Rubio follows in Kissinger's footstepsWith Waltz's departure, which the White House does not want to be seen as a dismissal, Secretary of State Rubio is even more in the spotlight. The son of Cuban immigrants was considered a candidate for Vice President under Trump last summer. The choice ultimately fell on Vance, while the then-Republican senator from Florida settled for the equally influential position of Secretary of State.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce learned of Trump's decision to appoint her boss Rubio as interim National Security Advisor, apparently in front of cameras during a press briefing. When confronted with Trump's social media post about it and a journalist's question about how long the Secretary of State would hold both positions, she said, "It's obvious I just heard that from you." She called this a "miracle of modern technology and social media."
Rubio puts pressure on Ukraine peace talksLike Waltz, Rubio isn't known for his bluster and appears more reserved than Vice President Vance or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The 53-year-old nevertheless aggressively advocates Trump's hardline positions.
Rubio was the first to publicly threaten that the US could withdraw from negotiations to end the war in Ukraine if Russia and Ukraine didn't quickly reach a peace agreement. Rubio doesn't need Senate approval for the position of National Security Advisor—he can start virtually immediately. dpa/nd
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