National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has reportedly been ousted by President Trump over his controversial role in the leaked group chat of American military attack plans on the Signal messaging app.
Waltz was told this week that he is being forced out, but has not been formally fired yet, several media outlets reported, citing administration sources.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt refused to comment about Waltz. “We are not going to respond to reporting from anonymous sources,” she said.
Waltz, a respected military veteran and former Florida congressman, has been on shaky ground since he was blamed for adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to the Signal chat set up to discuss a Mar. 14 strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information on the attack in real time, a stunning breach in operational security that could have put service members in danger if a foreign adversary had gained access to it.
Despite being on the hot seat, Trump repeatedly backed Waltz after the group chat emerged and has said he had no plans to fire him.
It is unclear who could replace Waltz. One leading pick could be Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, a close friend who is leading negotiations with Russia, Iran and Hamas in Gaza.
Witkoff has Trump’s ear but is a businessman with limited national security experience.
Waltz has also been under pressure for other reasons, including being viewed as being out of touch with some of Trump’s hardline MAGA stands.
