National security advisor Mike Waltz and other National Security Council staffers were ousted from their office on Thursday, in the most high-profile executive office exits of the second Trump administration.
Fox News confirmed on Thursday morning that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were ousted following a Signal chat leak debacle that unfolded in March, when the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine was inadvertently added to a group chat with high-profile Trump officials such as Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe discussing military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Speculation had mounted for weeks that Waltz would be removed from his position amid the fallout of the chat leak, though the administration has maintained that no classified material was shared in the group chat and that the president had confidence in his National Security Council team.
Fox News Digital took a look at who President Donald Trump could select to replace Waltz now that the position is open.
Steve Witkoff
Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who has been a top U.S. negotiator with Russia amid its war against Ukraine, could be tapped for the open national security advisor position.
Witkoff is a former real estate tycoon and longtime ally of Trump’s whose focus under the Trump administration has been on negotiating with Russia for a peace deal in Ukraine, and negotiating with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Witkoff was notably credited with helping secure the reality of U.S. school teacher Marc Fogel from a Russian prison in February.
Witkoff traveled to Moscow on April 25 as the White House reportedly extended its final offer to Russia as it continues waging a war against Ukraine that has raged since February 2022.
‘Ambassador Witkoff is in Russia to meet with President Putin as part of President Trump’s efforts to make peace,’ an official with knowledge of the talks and visit told Fox News Digital at the end of April.
‘It’s long past time for the death and destruction to stop, to move past the failed strategies of the past and for an end to this devastating conflict,’ the official added, without commenting on the ‘substance of negotiations.’
The war has continued, with the U.S. making strides with Ukraine, however, Wednesday, as Trump works to secure a peace deal. Ukraine signed a deal with the U.S., allowing America access to the country’s rare minerals as it continues to hash out a peace agreement.
Ric Grenell
Trump could potentially tap Richard Grenell, former ambassador to Germany and former acting director of national intelligence under the first Trump administration, to take the national security role.
The former ambassador currently serves as the president of the Kennedy Center, the national cultural center of the U.S., under the second Trump administration.
Grenell’s name has been floated for other high-profile roles under the second Trump administration, such as a potential replacement for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations after Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik withdrew her name in March to retain her seat in the House. Grenell, however, said he was a ‘hard no’ on serving in the U.N. ambassador role.
Rep. Elise Stefanik
Trump previously named Stefanik as his pick for ambassador to the U.N. but announced March 27 that she withdrew her nomination to ‘remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength.’
‘With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat,’ he added. ‘The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations.’
Stefanik is a fierce Trump ally, who notably grilled Ivy League college administrators from Penn and Harvard, her alma mater, in December 2023 regarding whether ‘calling for the genocide of Jews’ violates the respective school’s codes of conduct.
Trump potentially selecting Stefanik as a replacement for Waltz, however, would leave the Republican House majority vulnerable to an even tighter margin if Stefanik left her New York seat.