washington — President-elect Donald Trump Expected to be named Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and national security adviser, confirmed to CBS News two sources familiar with the plan.
The National Security Advisor is the president’s top advisor and plays a key role in foreign and security policy decisions. This role does not require Senate confirmation.
Waltz, a Green Beret veteran who served in multiple combat missions in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, was elected to Congress in 2018 to replace Ron DeSantis, who was elected governor of Florida.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump chose the waltz.
Waltz, a China hawk, serves on the House China Task Force, which seeks to develop solutions to address the Chinese Communist Party’s influence.
He was also skeptical about providing more support. Ukraine Because we are fighting against Russian aggression. He said the United States had “leverage” to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to end the war.
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“We have the same leverage to take the handcuffs off the long-range weapons that we also provided to Ukraine. And of course, I think we have a lot of leverage to bring Zelensky and them to the table,” he told NPR. month.
He served in the U.S. Army and National Guard for nearly 30 years, retiring from the military during his second term in Congress. He received four Bronze Stars, including two for valor.
Before being elected to Congress, Waltz served in a variety of roles at the Pentagon and the White House, including as director of defense policy for Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
Waltz’s wife, Julia Nesheiwat, served as homeland security adviser during the final year of Trump’s first term. She also served in various roles in the Bush and Obama administrations.
Trump had three national security advisers in his first administration. Lieutenant General HR McMaster (now a CBS News contributor) was the first. Trump fired him. 13 months later. John Bolton replaced McMaster and served for 17 months before taking office. Also ousted In the administration. Trump’s last national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, remained in that position until the end of Trump’s first term.
Ed O’Keefe
