Mike Waltz is expected to step down from his position as national security adviser in the near future, a White House insider told Newsmax on Thursday.
The update was first shared by veteran journalist Mark Halperin, who said that Waltz, along with his deputy Alex Wong and several others at the National Security Council, are slated to be removed due to widespread dissatisfaction with how the NSC is being managed. According to Halperin, discontent has been voiced from officials across multiple departments, including the White House, State Department, and Treasury.
Halperin revealed the information during an episode of his podcast, “The Morning Meeting,” which he co-hosts with Sean Spicer, a former White House press secretary, and Dan Turrentine, on the platform 2WAY.tv.
Since Halperin’s disclosure, the story has been picked up by several major outlets, including CBS News and Politico, both of which reported that Waltz is likely on his way out. CNN also noted that Waltz had already been told earlier this week that his time in the role was over.
According to Politico, Steve Witkoff, who currently serves as a special envoy for the White House, is the frontrunner to take over the national security adviser position. The outlet also reported that the administration has been quietly looking for Waltz’s replacement for several weeks.
Despite recent controversy surrounding a group text incident involving the Signal messaging app, Halperin made clear that this episode had no bearing on the decision. In fact, he suggested that the situation may have actually delayed Waltz’s departure. The March 11 mishap occurred when Waltz accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, in a Signal group chat where high-ranking officials were planning a military strike on the Houthis in Yemen.
Halperin emphasized that frustrations with Waltz’s leadership existed well before the Signal incident. He stated that disorganization and ineffective management at the NSC were the real issues behind the push for change.
“There’s lots of levels of unhappiness and it’s less about Signalgate than it is about… a general belief that it’s not being run efficiently, in an organized way. It may happen as early as today; it may not happen ever, because it’s [President] Donald Trump. But the plan for it is to happen soon, maybe this weekend,” Halperin said.
When contacted by Newsmax, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to confirm the report, stating, “We are not going to respond to reporting from anonymous sources.”
{Matzav.com}