WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has asked Florida Congressman Mike Walz to be his national security adviser, two sources familiar with Trump’s selection said.
Walz, 50, will join the new administration as it navigates several tense geopolitical battles, including the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Hamas war. The role President Trump sought for Walz does not require Senate confirmation.
The three-term congressman serves on the House Armed Services Committee, served in civilian roles in the Department of Defense, and is a decorated Green Beret veteran. He is also an outspoken critic of the Pentagon’s diversity programs.
In Congress, Walz called on NATO allies to increase defense spending and questioned the U.S.’s “blank check” to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The Florida native graduated from Virginia Military Institute, was commissioned as a Green Beret, and served 27 years in the Army and National Guard, with several deployments to combat zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was awarded four Bronze Stars, two for valor.
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Walz led a search mission for Private First Class in Afghanistan. Bowe Bergdahl, who gave up his job. Walz criticized the Obama administration for treating Bergdahl’s release from the Taliban as a celebratory event.
At the Armed Services Committee, Walz criticized the Pentagon’s personnel policies under the Biden administration, calling them “woke.” The term is used derisively by some conservatives to describe plans to advance progressive policies.
In an interview in early 2023 after Republicans took control of the House, Walz pointed to complaints he received from families of West Point cadets about a course titled “Understanding Your Whiteness and White Anger.” .
Walz called the course “incredibly divisive” and said there is no place for it in the Army. West Point denied in a statement that it taught such a course.
Walz also ridiculed the Pentagon’s efforts under Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to weed out extremists. Austin had made it one of his top priorities following the Jan. 6 riot and the involvement of several veterans.
Florida voters re-elected Walz to a fourth term last week. He is one of two sitting members of Congress, along with New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who will join the incoming Trump administration, leaving the House with two Republicans waiting for voters to choose their replacement in a special election. will be lowered. President Trump said early Monday that he plans to nominate Stefanik as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
