US President-elect Donald Trump has selected Florida representative Mike Waltz as his national security adviser, Reuters reported, citing sources on Monday. Waltz, a former Army Green Beret and a prominent critic of China, has criticized their activity in the Asia-Pacific. He also voiced the need for the United States to be ready for a potential conflict in the region. He will be responsible for briefing Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies, Reuters reported.
Earlier, while slamming the Biden administration for a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Waltz publicly praised Trump’s foreign policy views. “Disruptors are often not nice … frankly our national security establishment and certainly a lot of people that are dug into bad old habits in the Pentagon need that disruption,” Waltz said during an event earlier this year, as reported by Reuters.
“Donald Trump is that disruptor,” he added. Waltz has a long history in Washington’s political circles. Earlier on Monday, Trump nominated Republican representative Elise Stefanik to serve as the next US Ambassador to the United Nations, as reported by CNN.
Trump also praised Stefanik as “an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter” in a statement.”I am honoured to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement, according to CNN.
Notably, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik serves as the House Republican Conference Chair and the most senior Republican in New York, as per the official website of Stefanik. At the time of her first election in 2014, Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in US history.
Trump also has named Tom Homan, who was the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in his last administration will be in charge of the nation’s borders.
Notably, in a historic political comeback, Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. This makes Trump the first US president since 1892 to return to office after losing a previous election.
Trump’s return to the White House marks only the second time in US history that a president has served two non-consecutive terms. The first such instance was Grover Cleveland, who served as president in 1884 and 1892. Trump had earlier served as US President from 2016 to 2020. (ANI)