Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) confirmed Sunday she would not support Mike Waltz in a Senate vote determining whether he will be President Donald Trump’s next ambassador to the United Nations.
Waltz served as Trump’s national security adviser until Thursday, when the president announced he was moving Waltz to be the next ambassador to the U.N., a role that requires Senate confirmation.
SENATE GOP SADDLED WITH SIGNALGATE AS WALTZ PLUCKED TO FILL LAST CABINET POST
Waltz took the brunt of the blame for an incident where a journalist was mistakenly added to a group chat on Signal of Cabinet members discussing war plans. Criticism rolled in from both sides of the aisle over the security breach.
Duckworth vowed Waltz would face a difficult path to confirmation during an interview on CBS News’s Face the Nation. Although her opposition to Waltz is not surprising, it showcases Democrats’ deep distrust of Trump’s nominee, which could derail his hopes of securing the position as he undergoes a Senate confirmation process that includes a congressional hearing.
“It will be a brutal hearing,” she said. “He is not qualified for the job just by nature of the fact he participated in the Signal chain. In fact, I believe everybody on that Signal chain needs to be fired, because not a single one of them spoke up and said, ‘Hey, this is inappropriate and we need to be in a secure channel.’”
The Illinois Democrat and combat veteran summarized Waltz’s situation as “failing up” and said she could not vote for him because he is “incapable” of handling classified information.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) similarly predicted Waltz would face a “brutal” confirmation hearing during a CNN interview on Sunday. The senator declined to say whether he “had faith” in Walz as a potential ambassador.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t hear people’s morale is plummeting because of the lack of confidence in these leaders,” the Virginia Democrat said.
TRUMP MOVES EMBATTLED MIKE WALTZ FROM NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO UN
The confirmation process for Waltz will likely play out in June or July, according to Fox News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will temporarily step into the role of national security adviser until a permanent replacement for Waltz is found.
