President Donald Trump has chosen Congressman Mike Waltz, co-chair of the India Caucus and a veteran Army Green Beret, as his pick for National Security Adviser. This is one of the most important appointments of the president-elect and emphasizes the new administration’s measures to strengthen international relations without compromising on security arrangements.
Waltz, 50, brings to the role years of defense experience. A former member of the US House of Representatives since 2019, he is a fierce proponent of a strong US military posture and has steadily attacked President Biden’s approach to foreign policy, especially to Afghanistan.
His military service as a Green Beret and his previous experience working on key congressional committees, among them Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence, best equip him to advise on pressing national security issues.
Waltz’s views align well with Trump on India
On US-India relations, he’s an influencer and by leading the India Caucus, the largest country-specific group in Congress underlines commitment to strengthening relations with India.
His stances on India align well with the views of his new leader, Trump, on closer cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time when tensions are rising between the US and China. Waltz has warned of increasing readiness needs by the US military in the Indo-Pacific and voiced concerns over European support for Ukraine.
Mike Waltz praise Trump after being appointed as National Security Adviser
While Waltz praises past efforts by Trump towards pushing NATO allies to spend more on defense, he is quite divergent about what importance the alliance holds for the United States. Unlike Trump, he does not support the talk of US leaving the NATO group and instead urges for a stronger allied presence.
Trump has been moving with lightning speed to fill top slots in his administration. In addition, the President-elect named Susan Wiles to serve as White House Chief of Staff, Tom Homan as “border czar,” Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations, and Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency.
A position not requiring Senate confirmation enables Waltz, National Security Adviser, to take a leadership position that challenges Trump’s defense and foreign policy strategy further regarding US-India relations as well as against global security challenges being taken by the country.
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