Looks like the Trump White House is about to send some signals on foreign policy and national security, and that is not an unintentional reference.
Mark Halperin first reported this morning that Donald Trump will shake up his nat-sec team after just three months, with Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong out the door first:
BREAKING NEWS: 3 sources say that @michaelgwaltz deputy NSC adviser Alex Wong & others there are on their way out as early as today.
More on “The Morning Meeting” on @2waytvapp LIVE at 9am EThttps://t.co/7Qn5jbWc1G
Unhappiness with Waltz’s performance has been growing at…
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) May 1, 2025
Unhappiness with Waltz’s performance has been growing at State, Treasury, NEC, West Wing, and elsewhere.
IN as possible replacement: @SteveWitkoff who has backing from many senior officials.
OUT as possible replacement: State Dept Deputy Secretary @ChrisLandauUSA who is said to be doing too good a job where he is to move him over to the White House
CBS News followed up with corroboration from its own sources:
In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Goldberg published his account, and he initially omitted operational details, but after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied any classified information had been shared on the chat, Goldberg published that information, too, which included the timing of the strikes and the weapons packages used.
After Waltz admitted behind closed doors the authenticity of the reporting, White House officials debated whether he should resign, but Waltz never made the offer, and Mr. Trump did not ask him to step down at the time. Publicly, President Trump signaled his support for Waltz by calling him “a good man” who “learned a lesson.”
According to CBS, Trump stalled on holding Waltz accountable for the embarrassing episode to keep the media from immediately claiming his scalp. At the time, many of us wondered whether Trump would be so opposed to giving the media a talking point that he would withhold accountability for a truly foolish and short-term costly error. Today’s moves make it clear that Trump won’t tolerate sloppiness to that degree, a vital message pour encourager les autres.
Fox reported it on-air a couple of hours later:
🚨 #BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are OUT, per FOX
pic.twitter.com/P719eQwtvS— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 1, 2025
Politico followed up a couple of hours after Halperin too, but after Fox as well. They still tried to claim credit for the scoop. Marc Caputo replied with receipts:
At 8:35 a.m., @MarkHalperin scooped the Waltz departure story, well before @politico’s 10:54 am post and the rest of ushttps://t.co/BEePQPdokY https://t.co/RlAnmtx1pS pic.twitter.com/0ojRH0dvJN
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) May 1, 2025
Politico’s report didn’t have as much detail as Halperin’s, but that may be a feature than a bug. They caution that the decision isn’t final, and their sources had less insight into potential successors:
The ouster could happen imminently but is not final, the people said. All were granted anonymity to discuss information that is not public.
Names for a replacement have been discussed around the West Wing for weeks, but the plans to remove Waltz potentially as soon as this week gained steam in recent days, according to two of the people and another person close to the White House.
If Trump brings Witkoff to the White House as a replacement, that may solve some other issues. Witkoff has rattled the Israelis with his direct engagement of (and suckering by) Hamas, and his engagements with Iran and Russia are raising concerns among Republicans as well. Trump could bring Witkoff back as nat-sec adviser and then choose a more experienced and informed hand to deal with negotiations in these high-risk conflicts.
The White House has yet to address these reports, and much of the rest of the media still seems a step behind. As of 11:35 am, the New York Times has nothing, and the Washington Post only posted a brief report based on two unnamed sources. The White House didn’t issue a denial (yet) but said instead that they would not respond to anonymously sourced reports about personnel. Stay tuned.
