Donald Trump sacks national security adviser Mike Waltz

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Donald Trump has tapped secretary of state Marco Rubio to be interim national security adviser after firing Mike Waltz and his deputy following a scandal over the use of a private messaging app to discuss military plans.

Trump announced the move on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon, saying Waltz would be nominated to serve as US ambassador to the UN, keeping a prominent role in the administration’s foreign policy team.

“Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department,” Trump wrote. “Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN.”

Alex Wong, deputy national security adviser, was expected to leave his post on Thursday alongside Waltz, said two people with knowledge of the situation.

Their ousting comes one month after Trump fired several National Security Council officials after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, told him they were not sufficiently aligned with his “Make America Great Again” movement.

Waltz’s tenure became precarious after he accidentally included the editor of The Atlantic magazine in a Signal chat with top officials in which they discussed details of looming US strikes in Yemen targeting Houthi rebels.

The furore over what became known as “Signalgate” has cast a cloud over Trump’s entire national security team, and has enveloped defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared sensitive information about the military operation on the chat and separately with family members.

While Waltz came under pressure over Signalgate, several people familiar with the situation said the Maga movement had taken aim at the former Army Green Beret and Florida congressman long before the Signal scandal broke.

People close to Trump viewed Waltz, a foreign policy hawk, as a “neoconservative” who was more willing to use US power abroad than the president, who says he is against starting wars overseas.

Loomer raised concerns about Waltz in a meeting with Trump last month that the national security adviser attended. She also attacked Wong on social media, and had also taken aim at Ivan Kanapathy, a former fighter pilot who serves as the top China official in the NSC.

Loomer appeared to take credit for the dismissals, writing “SCALP” on social media site X on Thursday.

“Hopefully, the rest of the people who were set to be fired but were given promotions at the NSC under Waltz also depart,” she added.

In another post, she wrote: “FIRE IVAN KANAPATHY!!!!!!”.

Waltz’s exit, which was first reported by independent journalist Mark Halperin, after little more than 100 days has echoes of Trump’s first term, when four different national security advisers — Mike Flynn, HR McMaster, John Bolton and Robert O’Brien — each served in the role between 2017 and 2021.

As speculation increased about Waltz’s position, officials and diplomats in Washington have been looking for signs that Trump would replace him with someone who is seen as more loyal to the Maga agenda.

One person familiar with the matter said the leading candidates to permanently replace Waltz appeared to be Steve Witkoff, a decades-old friend of Trump who serves as his special envoy to the Middle East, and Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser who has been part of the president’s team since his first term.

Other names that have been mentioned for the role include O’Brien, who now runs his own consulting firm, and Richard Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany in his first term and is the current presidential envoy for special missions.

Some in the Republican party’s Maga wing have been advocating for Sebastian Gorka, a White House official who is part of Trump’s inner circle. Other names in the frame include Chris Landau, a deputy secretary of state who served as ambassador to Mexico during Trump’s first term, and Michael Anton, head of policy planning at the state department.