US President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser Mike Waltz on Tuesday faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers during his Senate confirmation hearing to become the next US ambassador to the UN.
Waltz, who was removed from his White House job in May following revelations he mistakenly added a journalist to a private Signal group chat discussing sensitive military plans, sought to defend his actions and reassure lawmakers of his fitness for the crucial diplomatic role.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed Waltz on the “Signalgate” controversy, labeling the move “amateurish,” expressing hope that he would convey “regret over sharing what was very sensitive, timely information about a military strike on a commercially available app.”
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) stressed that Signal was not “an appropriate, secure means of communicating highly sensitive information.”
Waltz countered that the use of Signal was “not only authorized, it was recommended” by cybersecurity experts, including those from the Cyber Security Infrastructure Security Agency, even referencing guidance from the former Biden administration. In contrast to the Democrats’ scrutiny, Waltz’s fellow Republicans on the committee largely avoided the Signal matter, instead focusing on US funding to the United Nations and his plans for engaging with China’s rising influence.
Waltz himself was critical of the UN’s current direction, stating in his opening remarks that it had “drifted from its original peacemaking goals” and should return to its founding principles of “peacemaking, not nation-building.”
He pledged to “make the UN great again,” echoing President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan for the conservative reimagining of America, and specifically criticized the UN’s approach to China and what he called “antisemitism.”
He said that the Trump administration’s diplomatic strategy would prioritize cutting costs that he called “waste, fraud, and abuse that are endemic to the UN system.” Senator Mike Barrasso (R-WY) questioned Waltz on his “commitment to reviewing every dollar going to the UN to ensure our taxpayer dollars are being used wisely.”
In response, Waltz listed several international organizations and climate-focused projects he believed deserved review, including the UN Environment Program, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the committee’s ranking Democrat, stressed the importance of a strong US presence at the UN to counter China’s growing influence.
She criticized the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid, noting that “within days of our shutting down of USAID and foreign assistance programs, China was already labeling the United States as an unreliable partner.”
Waltz assured the committee he would prioritize countering Beijing’s sway in international institutions, calling it “absurd that the world’s second-largest economy is treated as a developing nation at most UN agencies,” which he said “gives China favorable status.”
Waltz’s nomination to be the top US representative at the UN comes amid international uncertainty about America’s role on the world stage and the strength of its commitments to foreign allies.
Trump had initially wanted Congressmember Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for the ambassadorial role but ultimately asked her to remain in Congress to maintain the Republican Party’s slim House majority. Waltz’s nomination now heads to a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with other Trump picks.