White House Security Scandal; Trump's National Security Advisor May Be Fired

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): Although no decision has been made yet, White House officials have warned that former US President Donald Trump will make a final decision in the next day or two after reviewing the extent of the scandal.

 

A senior Trump administration official told Politico that administration staff are discussing what to do about National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

 

The discussions intensified after news broke that Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, was unwelcome to a private meeting about a military strike on the Houthis. The official added: "Some believe he should not remain in his position." Two senior White House aides have also suggested that Waltz resign to avoid putting the president in an “uncomfortable position.”

 

“It was reckless not to vet the participants in this conversation,” the official said. “It was reckless to have this conversation on Signal,” the official said. “The national security adviser should not be so careless.”

 

“Everyone in the White House agrees on one thing: Mike Waltz is a complete idiot,” said one person close to the White House.

 

According to the publication, on March 11, Goldberg received a request to join a group called the “Houthi Small Group” via Signal, an encrypted messenger. He joined the group with people who appeared to be senior administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gebhardt and others.

 

Another source said Trump has spoken to Waltz about the matter and the White House is now supporting him. “As President Trump has said, the strikes on the Houthis have been very successful and effective,” White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement on Monday. “The president continues to have confidence in his national security team, including Mike Waltz.” The press office declined to comment further.

 

A White House official said he was aware of domestic pressure for Waltz to admit his mistakes and accept responsibility, which could lead to his resignation. But the official stressed that Waltz’s fate would depend largely on Trump’s personal opinion as well as the extent to which other administration officials were involved in the Signals conversation.

 

Two other officials said that while Trump might blame Waltz for endangering national security, he could easily be frustrated with Vance for making statements that went against the administration’s foreign policy agenda or with Hegseth for sharing sensitive information with the group.

 

The issue has provided an opportunity for longtime opponents of Waltz, who are suspicious of his neoconservative ties, to push for his removal. Waltz was once a counterterrorism adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney, but like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he has shifted his foreign policy views toward an “America First” approach in recent years.

 

Those concerns were heightened Monday by a group of isolationist conservatives on social media who questioned why Waltz had the Atlantic editor’s cellphone number, suggesting he had neoconservative sympathies.

 

While Congress has been reluctant to oppose Trump in the first two months of his presidency, some members expressed concern Monday about the incident. Representative Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), the top member of the House Armed Services Committee, called sending sensitive information over an insecure network “unconscionable.”

 

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told the New York Times that the issue was “troubling” and that his committee would be following it up specifically.

 

However, a White House insider who called Waltz “a complete idiot” did not expect any major repercussions from the incident. “I don’t think it will have any long-term political consequences for Trump or the administration, unless it costs Waltz his job,” he said.

 

But many Republicans hope Waltz stays in office, according to ISNA. Indeed, while Republican lawmakers privately believe some White House officials are at fault, House Republicans have been particularly vocal in their defense of their former colleague, Waltz.

 

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Politico that Waltz “absolutely should not” resign. “He is exceptionally qualified for the job,” Johnson added. "He's reliable. He's built for this job and I have complete confidence in him."