By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump’s former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz faced tough questions on Capitol Hill Tuesday as the Senate considers his nomination to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The confirmation hearing comes as the Senate gears up for a vote on a $9.4 billion rescissions package — with major cuts targeting foreign aid. It also comes just days after the State Department laid off 1,300 staffers as part of President Trump’s reorganization plan for the federal government.
Waltz, also a former Republican Congressman, fielded questions from senators on efforts to counter Chinese and Russian aggression, as well as their influence in Africa and other parts of the globe.
This was the first opportunity for lawmakers — Democrats especially — to publicly question Waltz about his role as national security adviser in “SignalGate,” the scandal involving Waltz and other top officials who discussed sensitive military strike plans on the encrypted messaging app Signal.
One of the participants in that chat was not a government official — but instead a journalist with The Atlantic who was accidentally added by Waltz.
There were not as many fireworks in this confirmation hearing as there have been in others, but some Democrats believe the incident reflected a broader pattern of dysfunction within the administration’s handling of foreign policy.
“The White House conducted an investigation and my understanding is the Department of Defense is still conducting an investigation,” said Waltz during the hearing.
“Was any disciplinary action taken,” asked Sen. Chris Coons (D- DE).
“No, the use of Signal was not only not authorized, it’s still authorized and highly recommended,” Waltz replied.
“Did you speak to Secretary Hegseth about his decision to share detailed information on the specifics of an imminent military strike,” asked Sen. Coons.
“What we spoke about, Senator, was a highly successful mission that did something, something that the Biden administration did not do, which was actually target the Houthi leadership. We subsequently saw a cease fire, an increase in shipping and a drop in attacks on our ships,” Waltz answered.
Some of Waltz’s former colleagues in the House believe he’s up for the job.
“Mike Waltz is an incredibly smart and competent, service-oriented person, American. Doesn’t get any better than Mike Waltz, so he deserves that position. That whole ‘SignalGate’ was just a mistake,” said Rep. Dan Meuser (R- Pa.).
