Trump Taps Rep. Waltz as National Security Advisor 

Donald Trump has selected Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) to be his national security advisor. Waltz, a China hawk, has in the past argued that the U.S. should prepare for a potential conflict in the Asia-Pacific. 

Waltz is a member of the House China Task Force, and has introduced legislation to decrease American dependence on Chinese minerals. 

While Waltz has also backed American assistance to Ukraine, he has argued for greater oversight for that aid and recently described American policy in the theater as “not sustainable.” He has also called for greater European defense spending. 

Waltz, who is a retired Army colonel and former Green Beret, served in Afghanistan and in 2020 backed a bill that would have prohibited the president from withdrawing from that country without Congressional approval.

In 2021, Waltz backed an amendment that would have required women to register for the draft. “We need men, women, gay, straight, any religion, Black, white, brown. We need everybody, all hands on deck,” Waltz stated at the time.