2026-09-02 12:11:AM <br/> Tags: #AmericanJewry #USGov #Trump #people #NeoConservatism ![[image-302.png|320x407]] # Mike Waltz (1974-) - Mike Waltz is an American Republican politician who served as the National Security Advisor to [[Donald Trump]] from January 20, 2025 to May 1, 2025. #### Political Background (pre-2025) - Waltz's political career, which grew out of his military service as a green beret, began in the office of Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] as Special Advisor for South Asia and Counterterrorism.[^1] - Waltz was Director of Afghanistan policy at the Pentagon during the presidency of [[George W. Bush]]. - In 2015, Waltz became a nonresident senior fellow at the [[Foundation for Defense of Democracies]].[^1][^2] - Waltz has long been a close ally of the [[Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC)]].[^3] - In 2021, Waltz and Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, now both [[Donald Trump|Trump]] admin officials, were featured in an RJC panel with RJC national chairman [[Norm Coleman]].[^5] - In 2024 upon his cabinet appointment by [[Donald Trump|Trump]], the RJC congratulated Waltz for his "friendship and longtime support of the RJC."[^3] - In May 2026, Waltz was the featured guest at an RJC New York Gala Dinner alongside a handful of Jewish and Israeli officials including Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations [[Danny Danon]], Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, and congressman [[Randy Fine]].[^4] - In 2018, Waltz was elected to the House of Representatives representing Florida's 6th district. - Waltz's 2018 campaign included multiple events with the U.S. Israel PAC in South Florida.[^11] - The U.S. Israel PAC website states "our PAC focuses on Senate and Congressional races since the United States Congress decides foreign aid to Israel and other critical issues that affect the U.S. and Israel."[^12] - In 2019, Waltz attended a nine-day congressional trip to Israel sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, the 501(c)(3) congressional outreach wing of [[AIPAC]] founded in 1990.[^8] #### Waltz as National Security Advisor (2025) and UN Ambassador - Waltz was nominated by President-elect [[Donald Trump]] to serve as his National Security Advisor (NSA) on November 12, 2024.[^16] - Soon After his nomination to be NSA, Waltz was congratulated by the typically left wing [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]] for his "strong support of Israel."[^9] - In a March 17, 2025 article released by the [[Foundation for Defense of Democracies]] shortly after President Trump broke ground on Iranian nuclear negotiations, Waltz declared "all options are on the table," and that the administration expects full destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, its conventional missile program, and all uranium enrichment activities.[^17] - On March 13, 2025, Waltz accidentally added Jeffery Goldberg, the Jewish editor of *The Atlantic*, to a highly sensitive group chat comprised of top administration officials on the encrypted social messaging app Signal. - The chat which Goldberg had been invited, was used to discuss detailed U.S. war plans being actively carried out against the Houthis in Yemen. - The Signal episode, known as Signalgate, is considered an embarrassing amateurish unforced error by Waltz primarily but also thee other top admin officials present in the chat. - In April 2025, in the aftermath of the Signal chat leak, Jewish leftist Max Blumenthal of *The Grayzone* released an article exposing leaked audio of [[AIPAC]] CEO [[Elliot Brandt]] explaining the organizations close access to top trump officials including Waltz.[^10] - Waltz was fired on May 1, 2025, in the aftermath of Signalgate and Trump's uncovering of Waltz's unusually close association with the Israeli government.[^13] - At the time of Waltz's ouster in early May 2025, it was revealed the National Security Advisor had been secretly engaged in "intense coordination" with Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] regarding military and foreign policy options against Iran.[^13] - According to an article in the *Washington Post*, Waltz had met with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] ahead of a planned February 4, 2025 Trump-Netanyahu meeting at the White House on to coordinate an aggressive military posture against Iran. *This February meeting was the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House during Trump's second term. Waltz had been conspiring with the Israelis in the very first weeks of the new administration.* - According to an article in the *Washington Post*, referenced in a *Jerusalem Post* article, Waltz had been engaged in "behind-the-scenes coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on possible military action against Iran, without the president’s full knowledge or approval." Further, the article states, "Waltz allegedly worked closely with Netanyahu to prepare military options in advance of a February Oval Office meeting — a move he reportedly made without informing the president."[^14] - Waltz was described by White House insiders as seemingly "more aligned with Netanyahu than with his own president."[^14] - After Signalgate, Waltz was spotted using an Israeli-made encrypted messaging app called TeleMessage.[^15] - Waltz's treachery did not result in his imprisonment, blacklisting, or even full firing. He was demoted to a new position within the Trump admin as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a position in which he remains in close coordination with Israeli officials. - Waltz was replaced as NSA by the sitting Secretary of State and fellow former Florida congressman, [[Marco Rubio]]. - As of late 2026, Rubio still holds both offices, making him an exceptionally powerful statesman. - In December 2025, [[World Jewish Congress]] president [[Ronald Lauder]] described Waltz as "one of the best people we've ever had at the UN."[^7] - Lauder made these remarks while addressing the 2025 *Israel Hayom* summit in New York. - *Israel Hayom* is an Israeli Hebrew-language newspaper. Given the audience, Lauder's use of "we've" certainly refers to Jews broadly as a politically organized population. - As U.S Ambassador to the United Nations, Waltz was a featured speaker at the [[Tikvah Fund]] 2025 Jewish Leadership Conference.[^6] - Waltz took part in a "fireside chat" with Tikvah chairman [[Elliott Abrams]]. #### References [^1]: Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “Michael G. Waltz,” [https://www.fdd.org/team/michael-g-waltz/](https://www.fdd.org/team/michael-g-waltz/). [^2]: Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “FDD Welcomes Green Beret Michael Waltz as Non-Resident Senior Fellow,” October 19, 2015, [https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2015/10/19/fdd-welcomes-green-beret-michael-waltz-as-non-resident-senior-fellow/](https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2015/10/19/fdd-welcomes-green-beret-michael-waltz-as-non-resident-senior-fellow/). [^3]: Republican Jewish Coalition, “RJC E-Newsletter,” November 14, 2024, [https://www.rjchq.org/rjc_e_newsletter_20241114](https://www.rjchq.org/rjc_e_newsletter_20241114). [^4]: Republican Jewish Coalition, “New York Gala Dinner 2026,” May 31, 2026, [https://www.rjchq.org/ny_gala_dinner_2026](https://www.rjchq.org/ny_gala_dinner_2026). [^5]: Republican Jewish Coalition, “Panel: Reps. Lee Zeldin and Mike Waltz - 2021 RJC Annual Leadership Meeting,” YouTube, [https://youtu.be/lIIFYqDPvcs](https://youtu.be/lIIFYqDPvcs). [^6]: The Tikvah Fund, “Watch the 2025 Jewish Leadership Conference Sessions,” [https://lp.tikvah.org/jlc-2025](https://lp.tikvah.org/jlc-2025). [^7]: “WJC President Ronald S. Lauder Address at the Israel Hayom 2025 Summit in New York.” YouTube video, posted by *World Jewish Congress*, December 2, 2025. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL8lWmZSVOc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL8lWmZSVOc&). [^8]: “Michael Waltz: Jerusalem, Israel; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Tiberias, Israel, 2019,” _Congressional Travel Explorer_, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, University of Maryland, [https://cnsmaryland.org/interactives/fall-2024/congressional_travel_explorer/trip/500022153.html](https://cnsmaryland.org/interactives/fall-2024/congressional_travel_explorer/trip/500022153.html). [^9]: American Jewish Committee (AJC), “Thank You, Rep. Mike Waltz, for Your Powerful Words,” Facebook post, [https://www.facebook.com/AJCGlobal/posts/thank-you-rep-mike-waltz-for-your-powerful-wordsas-the-incoming-national-securit/1022194589952561/](https://www.facebook.com/AJCGlobal/posts/thank-you-rep-mike-waltz-for-your-powerful-wordsas-the-incoming-national-securit/1022194589952561/). [^10]: Max Blumenthal, “AIPAC Leader Boasts of Special ‘Access’ to Top Trump Natsec Officials in Leaked Audio,” _The Grayzone_, April 9, 2025, [https://thegrayzone.com/2025/04/09/aipac-access-trump-natsec-officials-leaked/](https://thegrayzone.com/2025/04/09/aipac-access-trump-natsec-officials-leaked/). [^11]: U.S. Israel PAC, “Upcoming Events,” [https://www.usisraelpac.org/upcomingeventsinfo.php](https://www.usisraelpac.org/upcomingeventsinfo.php). [^12]: U.S. Israel PAC, “Join U.S. Israel PAC,” [https://www.usisraelpac.org/join.php](https://www.usisraelpac.org/join.php). [^13]: Michael Birnbaum, John Hudson, Emily Davies, Sarah Ellison, and Natalie Allison, “Inside Waltz’s Ouster: Before Signalgate, Talks with Israel Angered Trump,” _The Washington Post_, May 3, 2025, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/03/waltz-trump-israel/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/03/waltz-trump-israel/). [^14]: Jerusalem Post Staff, “Waltz, Netanyahu Held Iran Strike Discussions Behind Trump’s Back - Report,” _The Jerusalem Post_, May 3, 2025, [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-852460](https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-852460). [^15]: Kevin Collier and Ben Goggin, “Photo Appears to Show Mike Waltz Using Signal-Like App That Can Archive Messages,” _NBC News_, May 2, 2025, [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/photo-appears-shows-mike-waltz-using-signal-app-can-archive-messages-rcna204434](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/photo-appears-shows-mike-waltz-using-signal-app-can-archive-messages-rcna204434). [^16]: “Mike Waltz,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Waltz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Waltz). [^17]: Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “‘All Options Are on the Table’: U.S. Reaffirms Call for Iran’s Complete Nuclear Disarmament,” March 17, 2025, [https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/03/17/all-options-are-on-the-table-u-s-reaffirms-call-for-irans-complete-nuclear-disarmament/](https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/03/17/all-options-are-on-the-table-u-s-reaffirms-call-for-irans-complete-nuclear-disarmament/).