Donald Trump has announced he is removing his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and appointing him instead to the role of UN ambassador.
The announcement followed hours of breathless speculation that Mr Waltz was being ousted entirely by the Trump administration.
The reshuffle will be viewed by many as a demotion for Mr Waltz, with Mr Trump having little interest in the affairs of the UN.
The move is viewed partly as a response to the Signal-gate fiasco, in which Mr Waltz accidentally leaked military plans to a journalist.
Mr Trump said that Mr Waltz had “worked hard to put our nation’s interests first” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, will take on his role temporarily while remaining in his role as the nation’s top diplomat.
Marco Rubio (second from left) will step in for Mr Waltz temporarily – Andrew Harnik
“From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first,” Mr Trump said.
“I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser, while continuing his strong leadership at the state department.”
The US president chose not to dismiss his national security adviser, the first Green Beret elected to Congress, in the direct aftermath of the Signal-gate furore, insisting he had “learnt a lesson, and is a good man”.
However, members of the administration privately called for the resignation of Mr Waltz, who took “full responsibility” for adding Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of Atlantic Magazine, to a Signal chat for top members of the Trump administration, used to plan a strike on the Houthis.
Mr Waltz’s hawkish views on Russia were out of step with the isolationist faction of Maga, which viewed him with suspicion.
On Monday, Mr Waltz is said to have argued for sharp sanctions against Russia if it fails to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine, a proposal to which the president is said to be resistant.
He worked his way into the president’s good graces during the former president’s time in exile after his 2020 election defeat and became a regular advocate for Mr Trump on cable TV.
The Signal-gate scandal is said to have soured his relationship with Mr Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles. The president delayed sacking his national security adviser so as to avoid handing a scalp to the liberal media.
Mr Waltz and Susie Wiles’s relationship is said to have soured in recent weeks – Anna Moneymaker
Mr Waltz has remained on shaky ground, losing much of his influence in the West Wing, and his standing never really recovered, according to CNN.
Central to his reduction in stature was Ms Wiles, who is said to be one of the officials most unimpressed with Mr Waltz, who struggled to manage his sprawling foreign policy brief.
“The system isn’t running properly,” under Mr Waltz, a source said.
Speaking in the Rose Garden yesterday afternoon, Mr Rubio and Pete Hegseth, who was also seen as vulnerable after Signal-gate, were praised by the president.
Instrumental to the decision to oust Mr Waltz from his current role is thought to be Laura Loomer, the conservative conspiracy theorist, who has made him a target since his appointment in January.
In April, she marched into a White House meeting with a sheaf of papers accusing members of his top team of being insufficiently loyal to the “Make America Great Again” agenda.
As a result, Mr Waltz was forced to fire six national security officials.
A long-term supporter of Mr Trump, Ms Loomer was one of his most vicious online enforcers during the 2024 campaign.
“Hopefully, the rest of the people who were set to be fired but were given promotions at the NSC under Waltz alose depart,” she wrote on X.
09:06 PM BST
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09:01 PM BST
Waltz ‘faces brutal confirmation hearings’
Mike Waltz faces “brutal” confirmation hearings to become the US ambassador to the UN, Democrats have said.
Mr Waltz will need to be confirmed to the position by a Senate vote, and will almost inevitably be grilled over his role in the Signal-gate disaster, where he accidentally leaked military plans to Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
“I think it would be pretty brutal,” Mark Warner, a Democrat senator, told NBC.
John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, told the BBC: “Signal-gate will now be a major part of Mike Waltz’s confirmation process.”
08:18 PM BST
Trump is ‘chaotic’, says former national security adviser
John Bolton, Donald Trump’s third national security adviser in his third term, has said Mike Waltz’s ousting is a sign of the US president’s “chaotic” administration.
He wrote in The Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump’s chaotic national-security governance is in full flood.
Whether it’s risking American military operations, making volatile, highly dubious tariff decisions, hiring uninformed senior advisers, or seeing senior government officials dissenting from presidential decisions, the disarray is palpable and likely to spread.
It did Thursday, with the ouster of national security adviser Mike Waltz.
07:57 PM BST
Waltz ‘deeply honoured’ by UN move
Mike Waltz has issued a brief statement after being ousted as US national security adviser:
07:42 PM BST
Analysis: A face-saving exit for Waltz – but still a demotion
And there we have it. After staying silent on the issue so far, Mr Trump has now announced that Mike Waltz will go to New York to be his permanent representative to the UN, while Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, will wear two hats and act temporarily as national security adviser.
Mr Trump is desperate for this administration not to go the same way as his chaotic first. He managed to wait 101 days before making a major change to his top team.
And rather than dumping Mr Waltz entirely he has found a face-saving post elsewhere (albeit a demotion). That is a reflection of how tight this team is and is something of a reward for a figure who has remained totally loyal up to this point.
At the same time, Mr Rubio, who as a more traditional conservative hawk may have wondered if he too were on thin ice, takes on more responsibility. That will reassure European allies that Mr Trump has grown-ups in key places and shows that Mr Rubio is safe in his role.
07:38 PM BST
Trump’s message on Waltz removal in full
06:46 PM BST
White House chief of staff ‘barely speaking’ to Waltz
Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, was “barely” on speaking terms with Mike Waltz, Politico reports.
Officials are said to have been alarmed at how his authority drained away following the Signal-gate fiasco as Laura Loomer, the Right-wing activist, convinced Donald Trump to sack key members of his national security team.
Approached by the news outlet amid reports of Mr Waltz’s ousting, Ms Loomer replied: “Loomered.”
06:03 PM BST
Waltz deserved to be fired, says Chuck Schumer
Mike Waltz deserved to lose his job, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has said, adding that Pete Hegseth should be fired too.
“Look, they should fire him, but they’re firing the wrong guy. They should be firing Hegseth,” Mr Schumer told reporters.
Arizona senator Mark Kelly also called for Mr Hegseth’s dismissal.
“I think they’re holding the wrong guy accountable,” he said, adding that he thought Mr Waltz accidentally including a journalist on Signal was an “unfortunate mistake” but that he found it most troubling that Mr Hegseth shared “incredibly sensitive information about a strike off of an aircraft carrier, putting pilots at risk”.
Following the Signal-gate leak, Maga faithful lined up to back Mr Hegseth, leaving Mr Waltz to take the fall.
05:48 PM BST
Trump’s ‘ice maiden’ turned cold on Waltz
Mike Waltz quit as national security adviser after his relationship soured with Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
Relations between Susie Wiles, nicknamed the president’s “Ice Maiden”, and Mr Waltz reportedly became strained, even before the Signal-gate Fiasco.
Mr Trump had considered firing his national security adviser after Mr Waltz leaked military plans to a journalist, but he refrained to avoid providing fodder to his opponents, according to CNN.
Yet Mr Waltz remained on shaky ground, losing much of his influence in the West Wing, and his standing never really recovered, four sources told the outlet.
Central to his reduction in stature was Ms Wiles, who was allegedly one of the officials most unimpressed with Mr Waltz.
05:27 PM BST
Trump snubs Waltz but thanks beleaguered defence secretary
Speaking in the Rose Garden at an event to mark the National Day of Prayer, Donald Trump made a point to say that Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, was doing a “great job”.
The president reeled off members of his cabinet and congratulated them for their good work, missing out Mike Waltz. However, he was quick to mention Mr Hegseth, who is also vulnerable.
The defence secretary was part of the Signal group chat into which Mr Waltz mistakenly added a journalist.
Mr Hegseth discussed sensitive information including times and locations of Houthi strikes.
In recent weeks, the Pentagon boss has been the subject of a myriad of negative headlines claiming he is disorganised and unprofessional.
The Trump administration and the president himself have repeatedly reassured Mr Hegseth’s job is safe.
Paula White, head of the White House Faith Office, speaks during the event in the rose garden – Andrew Harnik
05:24 PM BST
Waltz departure comes after Laura Loomer purged staff
Mike Waltz’s ousting comes after Laura Loomer purged his staff last month.
Responding to today’s announcement, Ms Loomer said that “hopefully” the rest of Mr Waltz’s staff are also forced out.
The Right-wing conspiracy theorist has targeted Mr Waltz, marching into a White House meeting in April with a sheaf of papers accusing members of his top team of being insufficiently loyal to the “Make America Great Again” agenda.
As a result, Mr Waltz was forced to fire six national security officials.
A long-term supporter of Mr Trump, Ms Loomer was one of his most vicious online enforcers during the 2024 campaign.
05:19 PM BST
Waltz struggled to manage foreign policy, source claims
Mike Waltz struggled to manage his sprawling foreign policy brief, a source told the AP.
A person familiar with the cabinet’s internal dynamics said Mr Waltz was too hawkish for the war-averse Trump and was seen as not effectively coordinating foreign policy among a variety of agencies, a key role for the national security adviser.
“The system isn’t running properly,” under Mr Waltz, the source said.
05:15 PM BST
Pictured: Trump arrives outside White House
Donald Trump arrives at the White House Rose Garden for a prayer event – Evan Vucci/AP
05:14 PM BST
Waltz gave up safe House seat for NSA role
Mike Waltz gave up his seat in the House of Representatives to take on the role of national security adviser in Mr Trump’s top team.
He was previously the representative for Florida’s 6th congressional district.
He was replaced by Republican Randy Fine.
05:11 PM BST
Who are the runners and riders to replace Waltz?
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, is the clear front-runner to replace Mike Waltz as national security advisor.
Largely considered to be one of Donald Trump’s closet confidants, he’s been credit with securing a peace deal in Gaza and been at the forefront of negotiations in Ukraine.
But no decision is final until Mr Trump pulls the trigger.
In the meantime, Marco Rubio, the high-flying secretary of state, is being eyed up to replace Waltz on a temporary basis, the The Telegraph understands.
Christopher Landau, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, is also among replacement options, according to a White House source.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and British media host Seb Gorka may also be in the running, owing to their firm commitment to the president’s vision, Trump allies told CBS.
05:09 PM BST
Analysis: Mike Waltz was living on borrowed time
Donald Trump likes to fill his Cabinets with conflicting views, setting up key figures to argue against each other before he makes the final decision.
Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret with hawkish views on Russia, was often out of step with the isolationist Maga world, which viewed him with suspicion as a neo-con.
But Mr Waltz had worked his way into the Trump orbit during the former president’s time in exile after the 2020 election defeat. He became a regular booster for Mr Trump on cable TV and, with his political base in Florida, he was a natural fit for the tight circle that grew up around Mar-a-Lago.
However, after the Signal-gate debacle, reports surfaced that his working relationship with Susie Wiles, a big beast of Florida politics and White House chief of staff, had soured.
The result was that he was living on borrowed time, left in limbo while Mr Trump delayed a final decision so it would not look as if he were bowing to media pressure.
05:07 PM BST
‘Mike Waltz has left the chat,’ says Tim Walz
Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s pick for vice-president, posted on X: “Mike Waltz has left the chat.”
The post is a reference to a Signal group chat, into which Mr Waltz erroneously added Jeffery Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic.
The chat, which also contained Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, and Mr Waltz’s deputy, Alex Wong, was used to discuss sensitive information on Houthi strikes.
At the time, Mr Waltz took responsibility for the error and apologised.
Mr Trump and his team insisted Mr Waltz would not be let go over the “huge mistake”.
05:06 PM BST
Readers react to Mike Waltz ousting
05:05 PM BST
Watch Live: Trump speaking outside White House
Donald Trump is speaking at the White House Rose Garden.
It is not clear whether he will address the departure of Mike Waltz.
05:03 PM BST
Waltz pushed for Russian sanctions before ousting
Mike Waltz reportedly argued for sanctions on Russia as recently as Monday.
Mr Waltz, who has long been viewed by some in Donald Trump’s top team as too hawkish to implement the president’s brand of foreign policy, is reported to have frequently urged sanctions on Russia.
The national security adviser apparently asked Mr Trump to take tougher action on Monday, according to the New York Times.
Although Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions on social media, no action has so-far been taken as the US attempts to thrash out a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
04:59 PM BST
Nothing is final yet, says White House source
A senior White House source said: “Nothing is final until it is announced.”
Both Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, who was also seen as vulnerable after Signal-gate, were at the White House on Thursday for National Prayer Day.
04:58 PM BST
Waltz rumours swirled after absence from Air Force One
Eyebrows were raised earlier this week when Mike Waltz did not join the president on board Air Force One.
According to CNN, the ousted national security adviser joined Mr Trump in Marine One but when he left the helicopter, Mr Waltz did not join him.
The network also reported Mr Waltz was warned his job was on the line but had been “fighting all week” to keep it.
04:56 PM BST
Trump left vulnerable after House cabinet picks fall through
Mike Waltz is the second member of the House of Representatives pulled into Donald Trump’s cabinet who now no longer has a seat.
The former Florida representative has been ousted as national security adviser, The Telegraph understands.
His exit follows Matt Gaetz, a former Florida congressman, who withdrew from being confirmed as defence secretary.
Elise Stefanik, the New York congresswoman, was also due to be drafted in as Mr Trump’s ambassador to the UN, but was forced to withdraw amid concern that the Republicans could lose control of the House in the midterms.
When members of Congress enter the administration, they are forced to give up their House seats.
With Democrats holding a narrow seven seat majority in the House, Mr Trump’s decision to draft in members for his cabinet could leave his party exposed in next year’s midterm elections.
04:40 PM BST
Waltz heaps praise on Trump hours before quitting
Mike Waltz was sent out on the airwaves to bat for Donald Trump just hours before it was revealed he is leaving the administration.
Mr Waltz heaped praise on Mr Trump and Pete Hegseth, his defence secretary, in an interview with Fox News just this morning.
“Nobody said (it) could be done. President Trump said ‘get it done’,” he said about Mr Trump’s minerals deal with Ukraine, showing no awareness of his imminent departure.
Saying Mr Trump has boosted US military recruitment, he added: “This is leadership at its finest, led by our commander in chief, who loves the troops and they love him.”
04:37 PM BST
Waltz news comes after Signal-gate leak
News of Mike Waltz leaving Donald Trump’s cabinet comes after the national security adviser accidentally added a journalist to a group chat where members of Mr Trump’s cabinet discussed plans to bomb Yemen.
Mr Waltz became the subject of a briefing war among Republicans after it emerged he was the one who invited Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, to the Signal messaging forum.
04:33 PM BST
Waltz becomes first head to roll in Trump’s cabinet
Mike Waltz is the first person to officially be ousted from the second Trump administration.
During his first term, Donald Trump had record-breaking turnover levels with around 60 per cent of his team thought to have been let go.
Michael Flynn, Mr Trump’s first national security adviser, lasted just 25 days. He was forced to resign in February 2017 after it emerged he had lied to Mike Pence, the vice-president at the time, about his contact with Russia during the transition period.
04:29 PM BST
Rubio among riders to replace Waltz on interim basis
Marco Rubio, the high-flying secretary of state, is being eyed up to replace Mike Waltz on a temporary basis, The Telegraph understands.
Christopher Landau, the United States deputy secretary of state, is also a likely replacement, according to a White House source.
04:28 PM BST
Ousted national security deputy defended Trump yesterday
Alex Wong, the US principal deputy national security adviser, spent last night defending Donald Trump.
“We are moving forward on a broad set of policies, a broad set of priorities, whether it’s security, whether it’s trade to make America stronger, and again, when America is stronger, so are our partners, and the world is safe,” he told BBC Newsnight.
Mr Wong and Mike Waltz, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, have today left office, The Telegraph understands.
Mr Waltz, a neoconservative Republican who has taken a hawkish stance on China, Iran and Ukraine, was already reported to be in a perilous position within the Trump cabinet.
The New York Times reported earlier this month that people close to Mr Trump viewed Mr Waltz as a potential early casualty, even as he takes part in negotiations to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Three sources told the paper that Mr Trump was suspicious of Mr Waltz’s previous firm backing for Ukraine, criticism of Vladimir Putin and earlier backing of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, Mr Waltz helped his case by describing Volodymyr Zelensky as like an “ex-girlfriend that wants to argue”, falling more in line with the style of Mr Trump who has been critical of the Ukrainian president.
04:25 PM BST
Trump ‘acting in the best interest of the American people’, says state department
Donald Trump is acting “in the best interest of the American people”, a state department spokesman said, amid reports his national security adviser has quit.
The Telegraph understands that Milke Waltz has become the first member of Mr Trump’s cabinet to leave the administration.
Addressing reports that Mr Waltz has been pushed out, Tammy Bruce said that the president is “hands on” about who he chooses to advise him.
“The President is engaged in every aspect of the country, and the choices he makes moving forward will be, as usual, excellent and will be in the best interest of the American people,” Ms Bruce said.
She declined to get ahead of an official White House announcement on the decision, which is expected to come during a Trump speech in the coming hours.
04:23 PM BST
Trump national security adviser to leave office
Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, will leave his role amid reports the president was preparing to fire him.
Mr Waltz, who faced calls to resign after accidentally leaking top secret war plans to a journalist in a Signal group chat, will leave his job along with his deputy Alex Wong.
A White House source told The Telegraph that Mr Waltz was “out” although it remains unclear if he will resign or has been sacked by Mr Trump.
04:21 PM BST
Trump ‘had been preparing to fire Waltz’
Donald Trump had been preparing to fire his national security adviser as early as today amid unhappiness over his performance, according to reports.
According to Politico, the leading candidate to replace Mike Waltz is special envoy Steve Witkoff.
04:17 PM BST
Hello and welcome to our live coverage
We’re bringing you the latest updates and reaction as Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, steps down following reports he would be fired.
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