WASHINGTON—The Senate confirmed Mike Waltz on Sept. 19 to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
The tally was 47–43. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) joined all Republicans in voting in favor of the nomination.
This comes just in time for the annual U.N. General Assembly, which President Donald Trump is set to attend next week in New York.
It also follows a several-month vacancy at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations as the original nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), was withdrawn due to the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives, as the GOP was looking to pass its tax-and-spending bill.
Waltz succeeds Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“My experience as a Green Beret, serving alongside NGOs and development agencies in Africa and the Middle East, shapes my view of this position,” he said.
“I’ve seen many organizations mean well and execute poorly due to lack of coordination, bloated bureaucracy, and poor contracting,” he continued.
“I’ve seen over and over again—hospitals lack beds, schools lack supplies or teachers—and by the time aid filters through layers of subcontractors, only pennies reach those in need.”
Waltz served in Congress, representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District between January 2019 and January 2025. He was succeeded by Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.).
“As a former congressman, I bring the perspective of representing hardworking Americans—welders, nurses, teachers, small business owners,” he said during his confirmation hearing.
“If we were in a town hall, could we answer their questions on whether their dollars are well spent? And should we be in the United Nations at all?”
During the hearing, Waltz said he would weigh the “pros and cons” of which organizations the United States should be part of and support, and ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are being properly spent.
He also took a hawkish stance on China, saying it is “absurd that the world’s second largest economy is treated as a developing nation in most U.N. agencies that give China favorable status.”
Additionally, Waltz said that “China pushes its personnel into roles at all levels often advancing CCP interests over the United Nations’ professed values” and that “if confirmed, I’ll work with Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio to challenge this influence.”
Waltz also decried anti-Semitism at the United Nations amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas triggered by the Gaza-based terrorist group’s surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“From 2015–2023, the General Assembly passed 154 resolutions against Israel versus 71 against all other nations combined,” he said.
“UNRWA in Gaza, with staff involved in the Oct. 7 attack and schools teaching anti-Semitic hate, must be dismantled.”
UNRWA—the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East—deals with the Palestinian refugee issue.
Waltz came under fire in March after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat featuring senior members of the Trump administration ahead of U.S. strikes on Yemen.
Waltz was later replaced as Trump’s national security adviser.
