Trump Gave Mike Waltz His Pick of Jobs Amid White House Shakeup: Report

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Sonam Sheth is an Evening Politics Editor at Newsweek who is based in New York. She joined Newsweek in 2024 and previously worked at Business Insider and CNBC. Sonam has extensive experience covering national security, foreign policy, elections, and stories at the intersection of law and politics. Her work has been cited in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and others. She has also frequently appeared on national television and radio, including MSNBC, NBC News, BBC World News, BBC News radio, and more. You can get in touch with Sonam at [email protected]. Languages: English, Hindi, and French.

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The White House reportedly gave Mike Waltz his pick of other administration jobs as he was being removed Thursday as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

Alex Wong, Waltz’s deputy, who was removed along with him, remains at the National Security Council to facilitate Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s transition to interim national security adviser, CBS News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Why It Matters

Waltz’s ouster came after he faced widespread criticism and scrutiny for inadvertently adding a journalist, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, to a Signal group chat in which Cabinet secretaries and other senior government officials discussed highly sensitive plans for a military strike against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Goldberg published full screenshots of the text chain when White House officials cast doubt on his reporting on the group chat. Trump continued defending Waltz after the screenshots were published, and multiple administration officials have said that none of the information discussed was classified.

What To Know

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles offered Waltz several ambassadorships, including ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Waltz ultimately chose to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, CBS News reported.

Trump announced he was nominating Waltz for the role on Thursday afternoon.

New York Representative Elise Stefanik’s nomination was recently pulled amid concerns about a slim Republican House majority, which would make it more difficult to pass Trump’s agenda. Stefanik subsequently returned to Congress, and the Senate will now consider Waltz’s nomination.

Meanwhile, as reports of the national security team’s shakeup surfaced, a photo began circulating on social media showing Waltz using Signal during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

The photo, taken by a Reuters photographer, showed multiple Signal text messages, including one with a user named JD Vance.

One partially concealed text also appears to show Waltz talking to a user named “Gabbard.” Tulsi Gabbard is the director of national intelligence. A third message shows Waltz communicating with someone with the last name Rubio.

What People Are Saying

Vice President JD Vance characterized Waltz’s nomination as a “promotion,” telling Fox News: “He’s done the job I think he was asked to do.”

Vance added: “I like Mike, I think he’s a great guy. He’s got the trust of both me and the president. But we also thought he’d made a better U.N. ambassador.”

Mike Waltz, on X (formerly Twitter): “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”

Update 5/2/25, 3:49 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.