Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE Senate on September 19 confirmed Mike Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, filling the last vacancy in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet after eight months of delays and the withdrawal of a previous nominee.
The bipartisan vote for Waltz came after a recent procedural hurdle sent his nomination back to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it had to be voted on again on September 24.
The Senate did not vote on a separate matter that would formally designate Waltz as a representative at the General Assembly, due to objections from Democrats, according to a person familiar with the Senate deliberations.
It is unclear why Waltz wasn’t advanced before Democrats employed the procedural move last week, given that his nomination moved out of committee last month with bipartisan support.
Waltz served for mere weeks as Trump’s national security adviser before he was ousted in May after mistakenly adding a journalist to a private Signal chat used to discuss sensitive military plans.
He has denied being removed from the post and insisted the chat met the administration’s cybersecurity standards. The Pentagon inspector general is investigating the issue.
Trump tapped Waltz in May to represent the U.S. at the United Nations after the withdrawal of the previous nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik, over concerns about the Republicans’ House majority. During his Senate confirmation hearing months later, Waltz echoed the priorities of his bosses — Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — of pursuing major reforms to the 80-year-old international organization.
