Former White House NSA to be appointed US ambassador to the UN after eight-month vacancy
Washington (The Uttam Hindu): The US Senate has voted to appoint Mike Waltz as US ambassador to the United Nations (UN). The post had been vacant for the past eight months. Mike is a former White House National Security Advisor. According to agency reports, 47 lawmakers voted in favor and 43 against Waltz's confirmation. He will now attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week where US President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the annual gathering on Tuesday.
According to a report by media inputs, during a Senate hearing, Waltz said the United Nations needed reform. He called for a review of US funding and an end to anti-Semitism within the organization. Mike Waltz had been serving as Trump's national security adviser since January but resigned in March after accidentally adding a journalist to a private Signal chat with senior national security officials discussing an upcoming attack in Yemen.
On March 27, Trump withdrew his nomination of Republican Elise Stefanik to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Waltz was subsequently nominated to the position in May. Previous U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield left the position on January 20, when Trump assumed the presidency.
Three Democratic senators—John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), Mark Kelly (Arizona) and Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)—voted in favor of Waltz, while Republican Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) was the lone vote against.
Trump announced in May that he was nominating Waltz, 51 for the diplomatic post. Waltz had served as White House National Security Advisor since being sworn in as president in January. However, Trump's confidence in him was considered to be waning since the March gaffe.