Donald Trump has asked Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida to be his White House national security adviser, sources familiar with the decision told DailyMail.com.
Waltz, a The former Army Green Beret has established himself as one of the House’s top China hawks and continues Trump’s busy day of firming up his Cabinet.
Among the various China-related bills he has co-sponsored are measures designed to decrease U.S. dependence on critical minerals mined in China. He is also known as a NATO skeptic amid his work during the war in Ukraine.
Waltz is in talks with Trump and is widely considered a serious candidate for defense secretary.
Presidents often look to Congress to fill high-level agency jobs, and Trump may well be tempted to look there again, although the nature of the Senate majority, regained by the GOP on Election Day, will be critical.
Donald Trump has asked Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida to be his White House national security adviser, sources familiar with the decision told DailyMail.com.
Waltz, a former Army Green Beret, has established himself as one of the House’s leading China hawks.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine colonel, has said that someone like Waltz with a deep military background may not be as dramatic a change as others who may be seen as stronger Trump loyalists.
The congressman has yet to comment publicly on the decision.
Waltz, like other White House advisers, would not require Senate confirmation as department heads do.
Trump had mixed luck with four national security advisers during his first term.
Michael Flynn, HR McMaster, Robert O’Brien and John Bolton filled that role.
The president spent much of Monday trying to secure key parts of his Cabinet before his inauguration in January.
He has offered the position of US ambassador to the United Nations to Elise Stefanik.
The House Republican and the president’s top ally accepted the UN post after it was offered to him on Sunday, DailyMail.com confirmed.
Rep. Michael Waltz speaks on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention
The congressman has not yet publicly commented on the decision.
‘I am honored to appoint President Elise Stefanik to my Cabinet as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart fighter for America First,” Trump said in a statement.
Stefanik will fill the seat once held by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has had a complicated history with the president-elect after running against him in the Republican primary.
Haley did not appear on the campaign trail for him despite repeatedly stating that she was “on hold.”
Stefanik had appeared at Trump’s now infamous rally inside Madison Square Garden last month as the race for the White House intensified.
Trump also selected former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as his next Environmental Protection Agency administrator.
Zeldin confirmed the news on X.com, promising to “restore American energy dominance” and “reduce the bureaucracy that prevents American workers from accessing upward economic mobility.”
‘We will restore America’s energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make America the world leader in AI. “We will do this while protecting access to clean air and water.”
Trump has promised to provide “crystal clear” water and “cleaner” air as part of his environmental priorities, but he generally views the EPA as an obstacle to economic growth.
Zeldin, a Republican congressman, narrowly lost his 2022 bid to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.