President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy are leaving their posts, just weeks after the Signalgate scandal, according to reports.
Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, will be leaving their roles, sources told CBS News, and it was “made clear” to Waltz earlier this week that his time leading the National Security Council had come to an end,” CNN reported.
President Donald Trump publicly backed Waltz after the Signalgate scandal broke and said he was “a very good man.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also reiterated in a statement at the time that the president “has the utmost confidence in Mike Waltz and his entire national security team.”
Waltz, who left his seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District to join the Trump administration, created the first Signal group chat and inadvertently added a journalist from The Atlantic. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared war plans with the group on the app.
Waltz said he took responsibility for the gaffe at the time. “I take full responsibility. I built the group,” Waltz said. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”
Trump said Waltz had “learned his lesson” and would not be fired. The president also blamed sharing the messages on an error from “one of Michael’s people” that did not amount to a “serious” issue.
Sources told CNN that Waltz “never really recovered” from the Signalgate scandal.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly reportedly told the network that the Trump administration “has the wrong guy,” and pointed the finger at Hegseth.
“I think they’re holding the wrong guy accountable … I think they fired the wrong guy,” Kelly told CNN.
Just yesterday at a cabinet meeting, Waltz praised Trump for his leadership as he hit 100 days in office.
But even that public display of fealty towards the president wasn’t enough to keep the ax from falling on his brief tenure atop the National Security Council.
When the majority of Trump’s cabinet reconvened Wednesday afternoon for an event to highlight business investment in the United States during the first 100 days of the president’s term, neither Waltz nor Wong were present despite there being reserved seats clearly marked with their names.
The Independent understands that Trump is strongly considering bypassing traditional national security professional circles and installing his longtime friend and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, as Waltz’s replacement.
It would mark a stunning ascent for the attorney and New York real estate developer turned presidential negotiator, who had no experience in diplomacy, defense or affairs of state before being tapped to be Trump’s top Middle East peace envoy during the transition period between the 2024 election and when Trump was sworn in on January 20.