Trump taps Florida’s Mike Waltz as national security advisor

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Florida congressman Michael Waltz as his national security advisor.

U.S. Rep. Waltz, R-St. Augustine Beach, a retired Army Green Beret, will take over one of the most important foreign policy roles in the country, one which does not require Senate confirmation. His appointment, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was widely confirmed Monday night.

His departure from Congress triggers a special election for Florida’s congressional District 6, which stretches from Daytona Beach to Mount Dora.

Entering the Trump White House marks the culmination of Waltz’ shift from Trump critic to stalwart ally, which included being floated as a potential running mate to Trump earlier this year.

He is likely to play a major role in Trump policy on Ukraine, where he evolved from a prominent Ukraine hawk to an opponent to an aid package to the country in April.

During the 2016 presidential primaries, Waltz, who had worked in the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration and was Vice President Dick Cheney’s special counterterrorism advisor, appeared in an anti-Trump ad for the group American Future Fund.

He urged the Republican Party to “stop Trump now” and said Trump “never … served this country a day in his life.”

But by the time he ran for Congress to succeed Ron DeSantis in 2018, he was a committed Trump supporter. In 2023, he was an early endorser of Trump over DeSantis in the GOP presidential primary.

Waltz was among the earliest Republican voices to advocate helping Ukraine against Russian aggression, even visiting its capital Kyiv on a secret visit in December 2021, two months before the Russian invasion.

“They continue to have a lot of needs, frankly, when it comes to their capabilities, from aviation to spare parts to ammunition,” Waltz said at the time. “And they’re looking to us for that support.”

But as many Republicans and Trump loyalists turned against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Waltz wrote in an op-ed for Fox News less than two years later that “The era of Ukraine’s blank check from Congress is over.”

This past April, Waltz was one of 112 Republicans who voted against the $60 billion aid package passed with 101 Republicans in support.

In contrast, Waltz has been a consistent supporter of Israel in its conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon. In May, he slammed Biden’s threats to withhold weapons from Israel if they entered the Gaza city of Rafah as “politically motivated.”

Trump’s first national security advisor, former Gen. Mike Flynn, lasted 24 days in 2017 before resigning due to his relationship with Turkey. Attorney Robert O’Brien served the rest of Trump’s term.