policy
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has asked U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to grow to be his national security adviser, an individual aware of the matter said Monday.
The nod got here despite simmering concerns on Capitol Hill that Trump could win over members of the House of Representatives, where the ultimate tally continues to be uncertain and there are concerns about pulling any GOP members from the chamber because it will force a brand new election to vote to fill an empty seat. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to debate the matter before Trump made a proper announcement.
The move would put Waltz at the top of a litany of national security crises — from ongoing efforts to produce Ukraine with weapons to escalating concerns concerning the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to ongoing attacks by Iranian proxies within the Middle East for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah.
Waltz, a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida, was the primary Green Beret elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and simply won re-election last week. He served as chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee and as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Waltz is an ardent Trump supporter who supported efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He is seen as hawkish against China and has called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing resulting from the country's involvement within the emergence of COVID-19 and ongoing mistreatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority.
He was a robust critic of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and called on the US to carry accountable those that claimed responsibility for the deaths of the 13 US soldiers at Abbey Gate and for “thousands of Americans and allies behind enemy lines.” carry. ”
He also repeated Trump's frequent complaints a couple of so-called “woke” military, which the previous president has derided as meek and too focused on diversity and equity programs.
In a press release last yr, Waltz, as head of the readiness subcommittee, said: “I am ready to get to work to better equip our military and shift our focus away from woke priorities and back to winning wars.” Safety will depend on it.”
A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Waltz was a Green Beret. He served 4 years on energetic duty within the Army before joining the Florida Guard. During his time within the Guard, he accomplished multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa and was awarded 4 Bronze Stars, including two for valor.
He also worked on the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.
The Trump transition team didn’t reply to a request for comment. Waltz's selection was first reported by.
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