Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., has been offered the role of national security adviser in the next Trump administration. Waltz has been one of President-elect Trump’s most visible surrogates during the 2024 campaign, spearheading military outreach and helping with the Veterans For Trump coalition.
The Florida congressman is the first retired Green Beret to serve in Congress and had previous administration experience as a policy adviser to former Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Waltz being offered the role.
Elevating a House lawmaker to the administration could complicate Republicans’ ability to govern the chamber, however.
Waltz is in a safe red seat on the eastern Florida coast, so it’s highly unlikely to fall into Democratic hands. But replacing a House member is a process that could take several weeks.
Republicans are on track to win the House majority by just a slim margin, so whittling down their numbers in Congress could fuel delays to Trump’s own first 100-day agenda.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speculated on Fox & Friends last week that Republicans would win by about four to six seats.
Waltz is the second House lawmaker tapped for an administration role after House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., accepted Trump’s nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations earlier on Monday.
Both Stefanik and Waltz are members of the House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate,” Stefanik said in her statement accepting the nomination.
“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries. I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations.”
Like Waltz, Stefanik’s upstate New York district is a safe Republican stronghold.
The NSA role does not require Senate confirmation, but the role of UN ambassador does.
By Agencies
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