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White House National Security Adviser Waltz Being Forced Out, Sources Say
US President Donald Trump, right, and his White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz is being forced out of his job, four people briefed on the matter said on Thursday, in the first major shakeup of Trump’s inner circle since he took office in January.
Waltz‘s deputy, Alex Wong, an Asia expert who was a State Department official focused on North Korea during Trump’s first term, is also leaving his post, two people told Reuters.
Waltz, a 51-year-old former Republican lawmaker from Florida, faced criticism inside the White House when he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides.
The national security adviser is a powerful role that does not require Senate confirmation. It was not immediately clear who would take over from Waltz. The National Security Council did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Sources said the options included US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in Russia-Ukraine diplomacy as well as the Middle East, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio could assume the position on a temporary basis while a permanent selection is settled upon, sources said.
The Waltz ouster caps a month of personnel turmoil within Trump’s national security establishment. Since April 1, at least 20 NSC staffers have been fired, the director of the National Security Agency has been dismissed, and three high-ranking Pentagon political appointees have been shown the door.
The purges have seriously hurt morale in some areas of the national security establishment, according to several officials within or close to the administration. Some elements of the government are low on relevant national security expertise, and in some cases, it has proven difficult to attract high-level talent, the officials added.
The NSC is the main body used by presidents to coordinate security strategy, and its staff often make key decisions regarding America’s approach to the world’s most volatile conflicts.
Waltz was blamed for accidentally adding the editor of The Atlantic magazine to a private thread describing details of an imminent US bombing campaign against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. The Atlantic reported on the mishap.
At a subsequent Cabinet meeting with Waltz in the room, Trump expressed his preference for holding such conversations in a secure setting, a clear sign of his displeasure. But he and others in the White House publicly expressed confidence in Waltz at the time. Waltz also attended Trump’s televised Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
WAVE OF FIRINGS
The NSC that Waltz will leave behind has been thinned by dismissals in recent weeks.
The bloodletting began a month ago, when Laura Loomer, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, handed Trump a list of individuals in the NSC she deemed to be disloyal during a meeting at the White House. Following that meeting, four senior directors were released.
Those four senior directors – who oversaw intelligence, technology, international organizations, and legislative affairs, respectively – had a long history in conservative policymaking and no apparent animosity toward Trump, leaving colleagues puzzled by their dismissals, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Some NSC staffers were upset that Waltz did not more forcefully defend his staff, those people said.
Since then, more than 20 additional NSC staffers of various profiles have been let go, typically with no notice, the people said.
In recent weeks, multiple officials have declined positions at the NSC amid the ongoing personnel upheaval, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Some areas of the council are now lightly staffed, with both the Latin America and Africa sections lacking permanent senior directors as of last week.
The Signal controversy was not the only mark against Waltz in Trump’s eyes, sources said.
A person familiar with the Cabinet’s internal dynamics said Waltz was too hawkish for the war-averse Trump and was seen as not effectively coordinating foreign policy among a variety of agencies, a key role for the national security adviser.
Another source said Trump wanted to get to the 100-day mark in his term before firing a cabinet-level official.
Waltz‘s ouster could be of concern to US partners in Europe and Asia who have seen him as supportive of traditional alliances such as NATO and tempering more antagonistic views toward them from some other Trump aides, according to one foreign diplomat in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Democrats who were outraged about the Signal scandal welcomed the news about Waltz.
“About time,” said Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.
The post White House National Security Adviser Waltz Being Forced Out, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.