Former national security adviser Mike Waltz faced tough questions on Capitol Hill on Tuesday during his Senate confirmation hearing to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Waltz, who was ousted from his national security post in May after adding a journalist to a Signal group chat discussing military strikes on Yemen, tried to defend his actions and reassure lawmakers of his fitness for the job.
More than an hour into the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Senate Democrats began pressing Waltz on the controversy. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., called the move "amateurish," while Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked whether Waltz had been disciplined.
"The White House conducted an investigation," Waltz said, adding that the Defense Department is still conducting its own probe. "No disciplinary action was taken from the White House investigation," he added, saying Signal was an "authorized and highly recommended" communications tool, even by the Biden administration's cyber experts.
But that explanation didn't sit well with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who accused Waltz of deflecting blame and of "profound cowardice" for his lack of leadership during the Signal chat controversy
"At a moment where our national security was clearly compromised, you denied, you deflected and then you demeaned and degraded those people who objectively told the truth and criticized your actions," Booker said, calling the incident "disqualifying."
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., also questioned why Waltz remained on the White House payroll even after being removed from his role in May, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped in as acting national security adviser. "I was not fired," Waltz said. "The president never said that, nor did the vice president. I was kept on as an adviser."
Still, Waltz's nomination is likely to advance. Senate Republicans largely rallied behind him. "Your pragmatism and patriotism is sorely needed in New York," said the committee's chairman, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho. "There's a lot of anti-American sentiment at the U.N."
The committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, stressed the importance of having a strong U.S. presence at the United Nations to counter China's growing influence. She criticized the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid, saying the White House has no "coherent strategy" on China.
"Within days of our shutting down of USAID and foreign assistance programs, China was already labeling the United States as an unreliable partner," Shaheen said. Waltz assured the committee that he would prioritize countering Beijing's sway in international institutions. "It's absurd that the world's second-largest economy is treated as a developing nation at most U.N. agencies," he said. "That gives China favorable status."
President Trump had wanted Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the ambassador role but ultimately asked her to stay in Congress to maintain the Republican Party's slim House majority.
Waltz's nomination now heads to a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with two other Trump picks: Florida car dealer John Arrigo for ambassador to Portugal and Pennsylvania Republican fundraiser Christine Toretti for ambassador to Sweden. The latter was never confirmed for another ambassadorship during Trump's first term.
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