Mike Waltz, a prominent figure in Trump’s national security team, came under fire earlier this year after inadvertently leaking sensitive discussions to a journalist via a Signal group chat
Donald Trump is reportedly set to fire his bungling national security adviser, who mistakenly added a journalist to a group chat discussing classified war plans.
Ir comes after the US President was said to be privately furious at National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for giving his political opponents potential ammunition to use against him, a source told Politico in March. The White House has not issued an official statement on Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong’s departure, and has not responded to a request for comment. Waltz, a prominent figure in Trump’s National Security team, came under fire earlier this year after inadvertently leaking sensitive discussions via a Signal group chat.
He had mistakenly included The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in the conversation, which involved planning a US military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. The leaked messages also laid bare the level of the contempt some of Trump’s key cabinet members feel for their “free-loading” European allies. One message read: “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.”
Goldberg later published an account of the chat, initially leaving out operational specifics. However, after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe publicly denied that classified information had been shared, he published additional details. It later emerged Mr Hegseth messaged timings of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, although he did not state exactly where attacks would be carried out.
Waltz privately confirmed the authenticity of the reporting, prompting calls within the White House over whether he should step down. Despite the controversy, he remained in his post, and Trump publicly defended him at the time, saying Waltz was “a good man” who “learned a lesson.”
Alex Wong, Waltz’s deputy, is a veteran of the first Trump administration. He served as deputy special representative for North Korea and later as deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the State Department. When announcing his return to the White House, Trump credited Wong with playing a key role in negotiations for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The men’s departure marks another significant shake-up within the Trump administration’s national security ranks amid growing global tensions.Top Trump national security advisers to be fired
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