Donald Trump’s special envoy and friend, Steve Witkoff, is at the forefront to become the new National Security Adviser as Mike Watlz is going to exit as he’s believed to have been fired by the president following the Signal leak scandal. No decision has been made but Wikoff’s name is under serious consideration, CNN reported, citing sources.
First high-profile firing of Trump’s second term
Mike Waltz is going to be Donald Trump’s first high-profile firing during his second term. No suggestion of this huge firing was dropped yesterday as Waltz attended the Cabinet meeting and heaped praises on Trump. “Mr President, the last four years the world experienced a lack of leadership under Biden, and then we’ve had 100 days of your leadership with respect and with strength,” Waltz said.
Is Mike Waltz taking Pete Hegseth’s fall?
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth came under fire as he was the person who leaked the Yemen war plan on a Signal group where Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added. But Mike Waltz took the responsibility of creating the Signal group and adding members. He said he did not know how Goldberg got added to the group, but it may have happened, as indicated by an internal investigation, that Mike Waltz saved Goldberg’s number on his phone under some other name and that person was supposed to be added to the Signal group.
Who is Steve Witkoff?
An American real estate investor, lawyer, and diplomat, Steve Witkoff is Trump’s long-time friend. Trump made him a special envoy to the Middle East. He played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in January 2025 and proposed the “Witkoff Plan” for a 50-day ceasefire extension, which Hamas rejected. He has also been involved in US-Russia talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, meeting with Russian officials like Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov, and in US-Iran nuclear negotiations. Steve Witkoff is facing questions about whether he has adequate expertise to be a special envoy as all the talks he is leading are in stalemate.
