Mike Waltz, President Donald °Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is facing questions from lawmakers Tuesday for the first time since he was ousted as national security adviser in the weeks after he mistakenly added a journalist to a private Signal chat used to discuss sensitive military plans.
The hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will provide lawmakers an opportunity to grill Waltz over revelations in March that he on an unclassified messaging app that was used to discuss planning for strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen.
Waltz has spent the last several weeks meeting with Democrats and Republicans on the Foreign Affairs committee. If confirmed, Waltz would head to the U.N. at a moment of great change, as the world body is reeling from °Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s decision to slash foreign assistance.
Here’s the latest:
Waltz denounces UN global reports that examined US domestic policy
Waltz stressed that the Trump administration’s diplomatic strategy would be focused on cutting costs to what he called “waste, fraud and abuse that are endemic to the U.N. system.â€
“It’s worth remembering, despite the cuts, the U.S. is by far the most generous nation in the world,†said Waltz, responding to concerns that the administration’s cuts to global programs hurt U.S. influence.
Waltz added that some U.N.-funded research and projects were anti-American and received input from some U.N. members who the administration considers adversaries.
“The U.N.‘s radical politicization, such reports as ‘Stolen Native American Land’ reports and investigations, called the ‘George Floyd mechanism’, labeling American police and America systemically racist with input from countries like Cuba and Venezuela, is unacceptable,†said Waltz.
Senate committee chair says US pays 22% of UN regular budget but doesn’t get its agenda adopted
Sen. Jim Risch was critical of the United States being the biggest provider to the U.N.’s $3.72 billion budget and the separate budget for its far-flung peacekeeping operations, yet according to him, Washington is not getting the commensurate support at the 193-nation world body.
Assessments paid by all U.N. member nations to the regular budget are based on their economies. The U.S., with the world’s biggest economy, is expected to pay 22% of the regular budget, while China, with the second-largest economy, recently had its share raised to 20%.
Last year, 152 of the U.N.’s 193 member nations paid their dues in full, including China, but 41 countries did not, including the United States.
A top Democrat warns against US withdrawal from international organizations
“I don’t think that most Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda,†said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.
“If we walk away from international bodies like the U.N., the result won’t be reforms that advance American interests,†she added.
Shaheen said she hoped that, if confirmed, Waltz would work with the Senate “to preserve America’s ability to lead.â€
“Put simply, we cannot shape these organizations or even push for the reforms that we want unless we’re at the table,†Shaheen said.
Senate committee’s top Republican says Waltz nomination comes at ‘critical time’ for geopolitics
Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho said Waltz will help “return the U.N. to its core and founding mandate of maintaining international peace and security†and restrain “mission creep†at the international body.
“The U.N. is always a challenge and desperately needs reform, which we’ve been unable to accomplish so far,†said Risch, adding, “There’s a lot of anti-American sentiment at the U.N.â€
Risch warned that “China is working with our adversaries to undermine America and our allies†and said that Waltz’s time as U.N. ambassador comes at a “critical time†for geopolitical tensions between countries like China and Russia.
Sen. Mike Lee introduces Waltz and issues a warning to the U.N.
The Republican from Utah, a friend of Waltz, called him “one of the most well-qualified U.S. ambassador nominees to the United Nations ever,†before listing off his military service as a Green Beret in the Army and praising his work on national security issues during his time in Congress.
Lee lambasted the efficacy of the U.N. and said the Trump administration “has some legitimate concerns†about the international body, which Lee called “a disaster and a detriment†to U.S. interests.
“With Waltz at the helm, the U.N. will have what I regard as what should be its last chance to demonstrate its actual value to the United States,†Lee continued. “Instead of progressive political virtue signaling, the Security Council has the chance to prove its value, and settling disputes and brokering deals.â€
The stakes of Waltz’s UN hearing
If confirmed, Waltz would head to the U.N. at a moment of great change. The world body is reeling from °Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s decision to slash foreign assistance — affecting its humanitarian aid agencies — and it anticipates U.S. funding cuts to the U.N. annual budget.
Under an “America First†foreign policy realignment, the White House has asserted that “some of the U.N.’s agencies and bodies have drifted†from their founding mission and “act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism.â€
Facing financial instability, the U.N. has spent months shedding jobs and consolidating projects while beginning to tackle long-delayed reforms. The U.N. is also facing growing frustration over what critics describe as a lack of efficiency and power in delivering on its mandate to end conflict and prevent wars.
Sen. Mike Lee introduces Waltz and issues a warning to the U.N.
The , a friend of Waltz, called him “one of the most well-qualified U.S. ambassador nominees to the United Nations ever,†before listing off his military service as a Green Beret in the Army and praising his work on national security issues during his time in Congress.
Lee lambasted the efficacy of the U.N. and said the Trump administration “has some legitimate concerns†about the international body, which Lee called “a disaster and a detriment†to U.S. interests.
“Instead of progressive political virtue signaling, the Security Council has the chance to prove its value, and settling disputes and brokering deals,†Lee continued.
Waltz enters Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing
°Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s pick for U.N. ambassador entered the chamber alone and sat alongside the administration’s ambassadorial nominees to Portugal and Sweden. Senators from both parties are also coming in.
Members of Waltz’s family sat behind him alongside kin of the other nominees.
Trump responds to inflation report showing price pressures by calling for Fed rate cuts
The monthly inflation report showed signs that tariffs are pushing up prices, but Trump is declaring victory over inflation anyway.
“Consumer Prices LOW,†Trump posted on Truth Social. “Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!â€
The consumer price index report for June showed a 2.7% annual inflation rate, meaningfully higher than the Fed’s 2% inflation target based on a separate measure of prices.
However, Trump has brushed aside concerns about tariffs and pressured Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to instead cut the short-term interest rates, a move that could accelerate inflationary pressures.
Trump further posted that the “Fed should cut Rates by 3 Points. Very Low Inflation. One Trillion Dollars a year would be saved!!!â€
It was unclear whether Trump wanted a 3-percentage point cut to the rate, which is effectively 4.33% right now. The Fed usually cuts rates in .25-percentage point increments.
Inflation rose last month to its highest level in 4 months
Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs. Higher inflation will also likely heighten the Federal Reserve’s reluctance to cut its short-term interest rate, as Trump is loudly demanding.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices for things like gas, food and groceries rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month.
°Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s are also pushing up the cost of a range of goods, including furniture, clothing, and large appliances.
Trump urged supporters to see conspiracies everywhere. With Epstein, that’s coming back to haunt him
As his supporters erupt over the Justice Department’s in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation, President °Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s strategy has been to downplay the issue.
His problem? That nothing-to-see-here approach doesn’t work for those who have learned from him that they must not give up until the government’s deepest, darkest secrets are exposed.
On Saturday, Trump used his Truth Social platform to again attempt to amid reports of infighting between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over the issue. He suggested the turmoil was undermining his administration, but that did little to mollify °Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s supporters, who urged him to release the files or risk losing his base.
The political crisis is especially challenging for Trump because it’s one of his own making. The president has spent years stoking dark theories and that casts him as the only savior who can Now that he’s running the federal government, the community he helped build is . It’s demanding answers he either isn’t able to or does not want to provide.
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Trump sounds more positive about NATO
Trump hailed as “amazing†the news from the NATO summit last month that member countries will increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product.
“Nobody thought that that was possible,†Trump told the BBC.
He has complained for a long time that the U.S. shoulders too much of the NATO burden and has demanded that countries devote more of their budgets to defense.
Reminded that he previously had called NATO “obsolete,†Trump said, “I think NATO is now becoming the opposite of that. I do think it was past.â€
Trump says he wants to have a ‘good time’ on his upcoming UK state visit
Speaking about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump noted in the BBC interview, “I really like the prime minister, even though he’s a liberal.â€
Trump and Starmer have met several times, including in the Oval Office, and the prime minister was a trade framework with the United States to avoid the steep tariffs Trump is imposing on other countries.
Trump is due to visit Britain in mid-September for . Asked about his goals for the trip, Trump said, “I want to have a good time and respect King Charles, because he’s a great gentleman.â€
Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, are set to visit the U.K. between Sept. 17 and 19 and will be hosted by and at Windsor Castle.
No U.S. president has been invited for a second state visit. Trump previously enjoyed state visit pomp and pageantry in 2019 during his first term when he was hosted by Charles’ late mother, .
Trump says he’s ‘disappointed’ but not ‘done’ with Putin, dodges on whether he trusts Russia’s leader
Asked about Putin in a telephone interview with the BBC that aired on Tuesday, Trump said, “I’m disappointed in him. But I’m not done with him, but I’m disappointed in him.â€
Trump said he thought he and Putin had reached a deal several times to end Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, only to find out that Russia had just attacked Kyiv again.
The president dodged when asked if he trusts Putin. “I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you,†Trump said.
The Kremlin says more US weapons for Ukraine will extend the war
The Kremlin said Tuesday that new supplies of announced by President Trump will extend the conflict.
Asked about comments by Trump, who threatened Russia with steep tariffs if it fails to agree to a peace deal in 50 days and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “such decisions made in Washington, in NATO members and in Brussels are perceived by the Ukrainian side as a signal for continuing the war, not a signal for peace.â€
He reaffirmed that Russia is open to continuing the talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, but is still waiting for Kyiv to offer a date for their new round. “We are ready to continue the dialogue,†he said, adding that “we haven’t yet received signals about the third round and it’s hard to say what’s the reason.â€
Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off nearly 1,400 Education Department employees
The is allowing President Donald Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Education Department back on track and go through with laying off nearly 1,400 employees.
With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court on Monday paused an order from U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan.
The layoffs “will likely cripple the department,†Joun wrote. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.
The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding down the department, one of °Õ°ù³Ü³¾±è’s biggest campaign promises.
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