U.S. President Donald Trump has sacked national security adviser Michael Waltz following an incident involving the accidental inclusion of a civilian journalist in a Signal group where sensitive military operations in Yemen were discussed.
In addition to Mr Waltz, Mr Trump has also terminated the employment of Mr Waltz’s deputy, Alex Wong, in the wake of the Signal group incident that has caused embarrassment for the administration.
Initially, Mr Trump expressed support for Mr Waltz, describing him as a “good man” who had “learnt his lesson.” However, the fallout from the Signal leak raised serious doubts about Mr Waltz’s leadership and his ability to effectively manage national security.
The situation escalated on March 24 when The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg published an article revealing Mr Waltz’s misstep in adding a civilian journalist to a high-level Signal chat that included Vice President J.D. Vincent and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, among other senior security officials.
While Mr Goldberg’s report omitted sensitive military details, Mr Hegseth’s public assertion that no sensitive information was shared prompted Mr Goldberg to later disclose the military tactics discussed, which were linked to U.S. operations in Yemen.
With Mr Waltz’s departure, Mr Trump is now on the lookout for a new national security adviser to fill the position previously held by Matt Gaetz.
