Washington – The newly elected President Donald Trump is expected to name Representative Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida, confirmed to CBS News as his national security adviser two sources familiar with the plans.
The national security advisor is a top aide to the president and plays an important role in foreign and national security policy decision-making. The role does not require Senate confirmation.
Waltz, a Green Beret veteran who served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, was elected to Congress in 2018, replacing Ron DeSantis who had been elected governor of Florida.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that Trump had chosen Waltz.
Waltz, a China hawk, is a member of the House China Task Force that seeks to develop solutions to address the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
He is also skeptical about giving more aid to Ukraine while fighting Russia’s invasion. He has said the US has “leverage” over both Ukraine and Russia to bring them to the table to negotiate an end to the war.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“We have power, like taking the handcuffs off the long-range weapons we supplied to Ukraine. And then of course I think we have enough power with Zelenskyy to bring them to the table,” he told NPR earlier this year. month.
He served in the U.S. Army and National Guard for nearly three decades, retiring from the military during his second term in Congress. He received four Bronze Stars, including two for bravery.
Before his election to Congress, Waltz held various positions at the Pentagon and the White House, including as director of defense policy for Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.
Waltz’s wife, Julia Nesheiwat, served as Trump’s homeland security adviser during the final year of his first term. She also served in various positions in the Bush and Obama administrations.
Trump had three national security advisers during his first administration. Lieutenant General HR McMaster (now a CBS News contributor) was the first, and Trump fired him after 13 months. John Bolton replaced McMaster and held the position for seventeen months before doing so also expelled from the administration. Trump’s last national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, remained in the post until the end of Trump’s first term.
Ed O’Keefe
