National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong have been removed from their positions at the National Security Council, sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.
Sources said more staff removals from the office are likely to be announced, and President Trump is expected to address the situation publicly.
In a Truth Social post Thursday, President Trump announced his intention to nominate Waltz as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first,” Trump said. “I know he will do the same in his new role.” Trump also confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim National Security Advisor while maintaining his leadership at the State Department.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman and decorated Green Beret, came under scrutiny in March after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he had been mistakenly added to a private Signal group chat involving top national security officials. The chat reportedly included Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and involved discussions about potential strikes on terrorist targets in Yemen.
In April, Waltz accepted responsibility for the breach. “I take full responsibility. I built the group. … It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” he told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.
Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong, who was identified in The Atlantic’s report as leading the effort to assemble a “tiger team” to coordinate next steps, was also dismissed. In the leaked messages, Waltz directed his team to organize a principals group focused on Houthi operations and indicated Wong would be coordinating follow-up actions.
President Trump met with his Cabinet on Wednesday, marking his 100th day back in office. Waltz was present at that meeting. Trump previously confirmed in early April that several NSC staffers had been let go following the leak, which critics said resembled the informal planning of military action via text.
In March, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had described the incident as “closed,” saying the administration continued to support Waltz at the time, despite the apparent error that allowed a journalist access to internal communications.
