Failure doesn’t have to kill ambition. Mike Waltz ought to know.
After the infamous Signal chat debacle, which contributed to President Donald Trump’s decision to oust him as national security adviser, Waltz was sent to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Instead of hiding at the struggling global institution in New York, Waltz has seized chances to stay in the spotlight, from hosting hip-hop royalty to warning Cuba’s leaders to “change your ways” to blitzing the Sunday shows defending the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.
Next week, Waltz will find himself near the cameras again as Trump attends the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders. It’s an opportunity for Waltz to get facetime with Trump as well as other heads of state in an array of settings. Maybe he will even pass out his team’s popular “MUNGA” hats (“Make the U.N. Great Again”).
My understanding is that Waltz is thinking well beyond the corridors of Turtle Bay.
Around Washington, there’s speculation that he might someday go for a Senate seat from Florida, and no one rules out a presidential run. I’ve also heard he wouldn’t mind a quicker return to the capital. The late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told people that Waltz had sought his support in becoming secretary of State should Marco Rubio, whom many pols suspect has presidential aspirations, leave the role. I heard this directly from two people Graham told in separate conversations, one of whom is a Republican elected official. One of them said their conversation with Graham took place several weeks before the senator died on July 11. Graham indicated that he’d spoken with Waltz very recently, the person said.
Like many who spoke for this piece, I granted them anonymity to talk about sensitive matters.
Asked about Waltz’s talk with Graham, Waltz’s office insisted in a statement: “This conversation never happened. It’s completely fake.” The office criticized POLITICO for reporting on the matter given that there’s no way for the late senator to refute it. Waltz’s office didn’t respond to questions about whether he had any other political aspirations.
An aide to the late Graham did not respond to my emails seeking comment.
Many people have had second, third or 15th lives in the era of Trump. The president prizes loyalty, or at least likes a good groveler. Waltz stands out, though, because he’s not widely despised or — the Signal screw-up aside — considered incompetent. If anything, he’s generally well-regarded, including among many Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Waltz is also viewed as a striver as well as a survivor.
“He’s very ambitious,” said Fred Fleitz, a former national security official in the first Trump administration. “He’s definitely going to want more, and I think he’ll be considered. He’s an excellent candidate to be secretary of State.”
A former Trump administration official who worked closely with Waltz described him as having “golden retriever energy,” as in “Hey, this is happening. Let’s do it. Let’s go. Let’s make it happen. This is what matters.”
Trump’s decision to barrel into a war with Iran may have, in an odd way, helped Waltz. He’s a former Green Beret with extensive defense policy experience. Many in Trump’s war-weary MAGA base always were suspicious of Waltz because of his perceived hawkishness.
Now, the White House regularly puts Waltz on the Sunday shows to defend the Iran war, including during particularly tense moments such as the run-up to a truce that later collapsed.
Waltz may in the long-run benefit from the public exposure, risky as it is to stump for the deeply unpopular conflict. His high profile has been especially notable when others, such as Rubio, have largely avoided the Iran spotlight.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly described Waltz to me as “a key messenger on all of the president’s priorities.”
“President Trump and the entire administration appreciate all of Ambassador Waltz’s work to Make the U.N. Great Again,” Kelly added.
Waltz’s former aides often refer to his military background in describing him as a mission-minded leader with a genuine love for the country. The phrase “public servant” came up more than once.
“He’s kind of with you in the trenches,” said a former congressional staffer for Waltz who stays in touch with him. “Early on, I messed something up really bad … I went into his office and told him what happened. And his face got a little red, he took a deep breath, and he goes, ‘Okay. Do 20 push-ups. Let’s keep it moving.’ And we never talked about it ever again. He’s very gracious.”
Waltz has developed a solid reputation at the United Nations, where U.N. staffers, foreign diplomats and others with links to the world body offer reviews ranging from “great guy” to the backhanded compliment from Trump critics that at least “he’s not a psychopath.”
Waltz has made clear that he’s there to push Trump’s priorities, including major revamping of the U.N. He has described the effort as getting the U.N. “back to basics” such as “maintaining international peace and security.”
While many countries want change at the U.N., Waltz and the administration are playing hardball to get it. The U.S. has withdrawn from dozens of U.N.-affiliated organizations, used its financial leverage to push the organization to cut thousands of jobs and more than $1 billion in its budget, and threatened to use its U.N. Security Council veto to strongarm other countries, according to congressional testimony and other other reports. A Waltz deputy, Jeff Bartos, is specifically focused on U.N. reform.
At U.N. headquarters, people are relieved that Waltz wants to remake the institution instead of burn it down.
“The secretary-general very much appreciates the excellent working and personal relationship that he has with Ambassador Waltz,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, told me.
When Waltz pushes diplomatic boundaries, especially on social media, U.N. circles view it as him performing for Trump.
“People feel that some of the really hardline rhetoric is more for show, and that he’s ultimately a pragmatist,” said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group think tank, who has close ties to U.N. diplomats at all levels.
Trump rarely mentions Waltz in public, but I’m told by a Republican operative close to the White House that the two communicate regularly and have a good relationship.
In his prior role as national security adviser, Waltz was quick to carry out purges at the National Security Council, one example of his willingness to follow Trump’s orders.
That doesn’t mean Waltz has a smooth path to a higher post in Trump’s administration.
The Signal scandal of March 2025 still hangs over him. It was unfortunate that Waltz, apparently mistakenly, added a journalist to a high-level Signal chat about U.S. military strikes in Yemen. But the fact that the national security adviser had held the discussion on such a platform in the first place was more alarming to many foreign affairs professionals.
And even before the Signal mess, Waltz had, according to reports, annoyed some other people at the White House, especially Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles, by acting imperious and excluding people from meetings. (There’s a strong belief among Waltz backers that MAGA anti-interventionists helped fuel such reports about Waltz so as to bring him down after the Signal scandal.) Even though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the official who shared the most sensitive information in the Signal chat, the administration let Waltz take the fall.
When Trump named Waltz ambassador to the U.N., he did not elevate the post to the Cabinet as he’d planned to do with his previous pick. Now Waltz in theory reports to Rubio, who serves as both secretary of State and national security adviser.
Should Rubio stay in the administration (he’s said he’s not planning to run for president), other slots could open up. Hegseth is reportedly considering a 2028 run, and Waltz is arguably more qualified to run the Defense Department than Hegseth was when he was named Pentagon chief.
Of course, there are benefits to staying at the U.N. It’s a side-stage but an important one — a place that at the very least offers a venue for conversations amid global strife, such as during next week’s gathering.
The U.S. ambassador at the U.N. may face criticism, but it’s not too much. They can bring attention to issues that need more of it. If you’re a policy wonk like Waltz, it can even be fun. The U.S. ambassador’s residence is also very chic.
The U.N. gig isn’t Washington. It isn’t power. It could, however, serve as a springboard.
Read the full article here