By Josh Dawsey, Alexander Ward and Meridith McGraw

WASHINGTON -- President Trump is replacing national security adviser Mike Waltz roughly a month after he put a journalist on a group text chat in which advisers discussed a sensitive military operation, according to people familiar with the matter, making him the first top official to lose his job in Trump's second term.

Waltz lost favor with the president and his senior advisers after The Atlantic revealed that he added a journalist to a chat on the non-government messaging app Signal, a crisis that dominated headlines and became one of the first major embarrassments for the administration. Trump declined to fire Waltz immediately, but privately expressed his frustration with Waltz.

Trump and senior administration officials, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, had been frustrated with Waltz even before the Signal debacle. Waltz hired aides that his critics said didn't appeal to Trump's MAGA base, struggled to relay the president's national security priorities on television -- once seen as the former Florida congressman's strength -- and was sometimes ideologically out of step with Trump, pushing more traditionally hawkish views on Ukraine and Iran, according to administration officials. He also clashed with other White House officials, people close to Trump said.

Write to Josh Dawsey at Joshua.Dawsey@WSJ.com, Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com and Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2025 11:03 ET (15:03 GMT)

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