Former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz just found out he is getting a new job, but it won’t be easy.
Waltz just got tapped by Trump as the new US Ambassador to the United Nations, which Trump is calling a promotion for Waltz.
While the Trump administration and its allies downplayed the #SignalGate scandal, it was a significant issue.
The blame was initially put on a Waltz aide, but we later found it was Waltz who created the group and added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the group. He stated, "I take full responsibility. I built the group.”
Prior to that admission, Waltz was blatantly lying about it, once stating, "We've got the best technical minds looking at how this happened," yet he knew he created the group. He had also stated that he did not know Goldberg, which was another lie.
After Waltz made that claim, a picture blew up all over X showing Waltz and Goldberg at an event, standing within inches of each other, so Waltz was proven to be a liar yet again, and I cannot stand liars.
One would think that Waltz would have learned his lesson about using Signal after that controversy, but a photographer caught Waltz using the chat app again during a Cabinet meeting.
Democrats seized on the report to criticize Waltz. For instance, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) stated, “This is incredibly dumb.” He later added, “Trump and his national security team might as well post American battle plans on X at this rate.”
Chioma Chukwu, the interim executive director of American Oversight, stated, “The use of a modified Signal app may suggest an attempt to appear compliant with federal record-keeping laws, but it actually underscores a dangerous reliance on unofficial tools that threaten national security and put our service members at risk.
“Americans have a right to transparency and to know their leaders are following the law, not hiding behind unauthorized workarounds.”
For the last four years, all we heard from the right side of the aisle was that Biden always failed to hold people accountable. Yet, here was a colossal mistake by Waltz, and Trump did nothing.
In fact, by Trump’s own words, by tapping Waltz as the ambassador, he is giving him a more important role. Trump called it an “upgrade,” adding, “I didn’t lose confidence in him. He’s going to the United Nations for a reason. To me, I think it’s personally, if I had assurance for myself… I’d rather have that job than the other.”
I believe Trump feels bad since Waltz gave up his congressional seat to take the post, so he is trying to find a home for him, but this is a very important position, and I have zero confidence in Waltz at this point. If you want to give him a job because you feel bad for him, make him a special adviser and be done with it, but don't give him a post of this significance.
When it became clear that he lied about what happened on Signal, he should have been terminated on the spot, period. This is one nomination that I simply cannot and will not support considering his past record.
