President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly chosen Republican congressman Mike Waltz of Florida as his national security adviser. Waltz is a Trump supporter and a former colonel in the national guard. He has been critical of Chinese actions in the Asia-Pacific region and believes that the United States should be prepared for potential conflicts in that area.
Last week, Waltz won re-election to his US House seat representing east-central Florida, including Daytona Beach. He defeated Democrat James Stockton, a pastor and former NAACP branch president. Waltz is a combat-decorated Green Beret and has served in the White House and the Pentagon as a policy adviser. He was first elected in 2018, taking over from Republican Ron DeSantis, who ran for governor.
Waltz has completed multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and has been awarded four Bronze Stars. He was part of a bipartisan congressional task force investigating the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. After leaving the army, Waltz worked in the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration as a policy director for former defense secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. He also served as a counter-terrorism adviser under former vice-president Dick Cheney.
In response to Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in a chaotic manner, Waltz called for a reversal of the decision and a return to military operations in the region. He has emphasized the importance of protecting the Afghan people and believes that US soldiers may need to go back. Reports have shown that US nation-building efforts in Afghanistan led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, police, and military personnel, as well as widespread torture.
In addition to naming Mike Waltz as his national security adviser, Trump is expected to appoint Senator Marco Rubio of Florida as his secretary of state. Rubio, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, has been a key foreign policy adviser to Trump. He also helped Trump prepare for his debates against Biden in 2020.
These appointments signal Trump’s focus on national security and foreign policy as he prepares to take office. Both Waltz and Rubio bring experience and expertise to their respective roles, and their appointments are likely to shape Trump’s approach to these critical areas in the coming years.
