Senate Democrats Sharpen Their Spears for Mike Waltz’s Confirmation Hearing

“It’s gonna be a hard one,” Sen. Tim Kaine said of Mike Waltz’s confirmation hearing. “I think the Signal-gate stuff certainly will be a major note in the chord, but there will be other things as well.”

Mike Waltz
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz listens to a question from a reporter in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. Alex Brandon/AP

When President Donald Trump appointed Mike Waltz to serve as his national security adviser, Waltz didn’t need a Senate confirmation hearing. With his new nomination — to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — Waltz won’t be so lucky.

Senate Democrats have plenty of ammunition to go after Waltz. And they plan to make his confirmation hearing a proxy battle on a number of issues, from the Trump administration’s most embarrassing scandal thus far to the president’s approach to international institutions.

Waltz’s accidental inclusion of a journalist in a Signal chat discussing classified information is sure to come up repeatedly during his confirmation. But so, too, will recent votes at the U.N., where the U.S. sided with countries like North Korea and Russia, and apparent disagreements between Trump and Waltz over Iran. (The Iran split reportedly may have been the last straw for Waltz as national security adviser.)