President-elect Donald Trump has selected US Representative Mike Waltz of Florida as his national security advisor, according to the media reports. Waltz, a retired Army Green Beret officer and National Guard colonel, is a three-term congressman known for his experience in military and national security matters. He has a long history in Washington’s political circles.
Notably, Waltz represents east-central Florida. He made history as the first Green Beret elected to the US House of Representatives and served on key committees, including the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on readiness, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Intelligence Committee. Waltz was recently re-elected, he has earned a reputation for his strong stance on defense and foreign policy, particularly regarding China and US military readiness.
Waltz has been vocal about his opinions over threats posed by countries like China and Iran. He is focused on US-China relations, highlighting the need to hold China accountable for issues including the origins of COVID-19 and its treatment of minority Uighur Muslims. Waltz even called for a US boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a stand against China’s policies.
He has also criticised the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying it chaotic and demanding accountability for the deaths of U.S. service members and stranded allies. In a statement last year, Waltz said that as head of the readiness subcommittee: “I am ready to get to work to better equip our military and turn our focus away from woke priorities and back to winning wars. Our national security depends on it.” A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Waltz served in the Army and completed multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for valor. Waltz also served as a policy adviser in the Pentagon under defense secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates.
In Congress , Waltz has championed a stronger defense policy. He emphasized the need to re-prioritize the military, saying, “I am ready to get to work to better equip our military and turn our focus away from woke priorities and back to winning wars. Our national security depends on it.”
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