Trump begins to fill Cabinet
Washington — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican, as his national security adviser, two sources familiar with the plans confirmed to CBS News.
The national security adviser is a top aide to the president who plays a major role in foreign and national security policy decision-making. The role does not require Senate confirmation.
Waltz, a Green Beret veteran who served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, was elected to Congress in 2018, replacing Ron DeSantis who had been elected Florida’s governor.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Trump had selected Waltz.
Waltz, a China hawk, serves on the House China Task Force that seeks to develop solutions to address the Chinese Communist Party’s influence.
He has also been skeptical of giving more aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion. He has said that the U.S. has “leverage” over both Ukraine and Russia to get them to the table to negotiate an end to the war.
“We have leverage, like taking the handcuffs off of the long-range weapons we provided Ukraine as well. And then, of course, I think we have plenty of leverage with Zelenskyy to get them to the table,” he told NPR earlier this month.
He served nearly three decades in the U.S. Army and National Guard, retiring from the military during his second term in Congress. He was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for valor.
Before his election to Congress, Waltz served in various roles at the Pentagon and White House, including as defense policy director for Secretaries of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.
Waltz’s wife, Julia Nesheiwat, served as Trump’s Homeland Security adviser in the last year of his first term. She has also served in various roles in the Bush and Obama administrations.
Trump had three national security advisers in his first administration. Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster (now a CBS News contributor) was the first, and Trump fired him after 13 months. John Bolton replaced McMaster, and he lasted 17 months in the job before he was also ousted from the administration. Trump’s final national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, remained in the post until the end of Trump’s first term.
Ed O’Keefe is CBS News senior White House and political correspondent. He previously worked for The Washington Post covering presidential campaigns, Congress and federal agencies. His primary focus is on President Biden, Vice President Harris and political issues across the country.
