Mike Waltz’s ouster from national security adviser can be seen as a promotion, Vice President JD Vance told a Fox News host Thursday evening, noting the recent Cabinet shakeup.
Sitting for an interview with Bret Baier, Vance explained that Waltz’s reassignment from national security adviser to U.N. ambassador nominee is not a firing.
‘He wasn’t let go,’ Vance, 40, told the show host. ‘He is being made ambassador to the United Nations, which of course is a Senate confirmed position.’
‘I think you can make a good argument that it’s a promotion,’ Vance reasoned.
Waltz infamously added a journalist to a Signal group chat where top U.S. officials discussed military actions. The oversight has prompted immense pressure on Trump to fire Waltz.
‘Donald Trump has fired a lot of people,’ the vice president said. ‘He doesn’t give them Senate confirmed appointments afterwards.’
Baier pushed back, asking if this sets an example for Trump to cycle secretaries, ‘Is Pete Hegseth safe as defense secretary? Are there other changes coming?’
‘I think certainly yes. Pete Hegseth is safe. And I think our Cabinet Secretaries you saw yesterday the President, they’re all doing a great job,’ Vance responded.
Vice President JD Vance told Fox News host Bret Baier that Mike Waltz was not removed as national security adviser because of his Signal scandal
Former National Security Advisor Michael Waltz delivers remarks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 20 February 2025. Trump announed Waltz is leaving the post via Truth Social on Thursday
Waltz could be seen checking his messages during Wednesday’s two-hour cabinet meeting as he was still adviser
Vance also dished on what will happen to the vacated advisory role.
Now, Rubio will step into the national security adviser role; a position he will hold in addition to being secretary of state, administrator of USAID and the archivist of the U.S. – a unique array of positions never before held by a lone official.
The timeline for Waltz’s Senate confirmation hearings is currently unclear.
Originally, Trump nominated New York Republican Elise Stefanik to the ambassador role, but he pulled her bid to pad his vote total in the House so he can pass his ‘big, beautiful bill.’
Vance said in the interview that both he and the president think Waltz is better suited for this U.N. role.
He also noted that the former Republican congressman completed his Trump-assigned objective of firing unruly or disloyal staffers.
‘[Trump] said, ‘Mike, you need to go in here fire, frankly, a lot of people, people who aren’t loyal to my agenda, who we think aren’t even loyal to the American people, bring in the right collection of people to actually make the National Security Council function,” the VP shared recounting orders from the president.
‘And Mike has done that, and now it’s time for Mike to do something else,’ Vance said.
National Security Adviser Michael Waltz looks at his phone as he prepares for a TV interview at the White House on Thursday immediately before his firing
The vice president called the Houthi Signal group chat scandal ‘a total nothing-burger of a story.’
Waltz joins a growing club of national security advisors Trump has replaced or fired.
The first was retired Gen. Mike Flynn, followed by H.R. McMaster and John Bolton. The final security advisor of Trump’s first term was Robert O’Brien.
Laura Loomer, a conservative commentator and show host, recently revealed that she had planned on showing Trump a damaging clip of Waltz criticizing the president in an old campaign ad.
Last month, the president denied that the host was involved in a slew of firings at the National Security Council.
Waltz’s reassignment is the first major move so far in the Trump Cabinet.
Though as the U.N. ambassador role is also a Cabinet-level role, Waltz will still be inside the White House’s inner-orbit.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .