Trump 2.0: Who is Mike Waltz, the India Caucus head picked as the next National Security Advisor?
As Trump 2.0 continues to take shape, the US President-elect has named more members of his new cabinet. Donald Trump has nominated Mike Waltz as his National Security Adviser.??
Waltz is a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran who has served as a Congressman for three terms from east-central Florida.??
Decorated military career
A graduate of Virginia Military Institute, Waltz was a Green Beret, an elite special forces unit of the US Army. He served in the active-duty Army for four years before moving to the Florida Guard. While in the Guard, he completed multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa and was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two with valour. He was the first Green Beret elected to the US House.??
Waltz view on China??
Known for his hawkish stance on China, Waltz had called for a US boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of Uighurs. Waltz is also on the Republicans' China task force and has argued the US military is not as prepared as it needs to be if there is a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.??
Also read:?Who is Susie Wiles, the first appointment of US President-elect as White House Chief of Staff?
Co-chair of the India Caucus??
Waltz is also a co-chair of the India Caucus in the House, which is the largest country-specific group in the US Congress.??
He was a critic of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and had demanded that those responsible for the deaths of the 13 U.S. service members at Abbey Gate be held accountable.??
A Trump loyalist
The 50-year-old is also an ardent Trump loyalist and was among the Republicans who tried to overturn the Presidential election results in 2020.??
The National Security Adviser is a powerful role that does not require Senate confirmation. In his new role, Waltz will be responsible for briefing Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.
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