What is known about the new US special Representative to the UN? Five Facts about Mike Waltz

The US administration announced that former presidential security adviser Mike Waltz will represent the country at the UN, and his duties will be temporarily assigned to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Thus, the disgraced civil servant is removed from the domestic political arena. What is known about Mike Waltz is in the Izvestia article.

Fact 1. A representative of a military dynasty

Mike Waltz grew up in Florida in a single—parent family - he was raised by a working single mother. In 1996, he graduated with honors from the Virginia Military Institute. After completing his studies, he was drafted into the armored forces.

• Choosing a military career, Waltz continued the family dynasty: his father and grandfather were naval commanders. Waltz's wife Julia Nesheivat is also associated with military service — she is an army veteran.

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• As a lieutenant, Waltz enrolled in Ranger School and was selected for the elite Green Berets Special Forces of the United States Army. As part of this unit, Waltz participated in combat operations in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan. In addition, he led the operation to rescue American Sergeant Bowie Bergdahl, who spent five years in captivity with the Taliban. US President Barack Obama has decided to return Bergdahl from captivity in exchange for the release of five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. Waltz later criticized this move, as Bergdahl was captured due to unauthorized abandonment of the unit, and the operation to rescue him cost the lives of six American soldiers.

Fact 2. The first green Beret in the Congress

• Mike Waltz became the first representative of the elite military unit, the Green Berets Ground Forces, in the US Congress. In 2018, he was elected to the House of Representatives from the Republican Party of Florida. Waltz retained this post in 2020, 2022 and 2024, gaining more than 60% of the vote in each election.

• Waltz is known for his hawkish stance on China: in an interview with Fox News in 2020, he called China an existential threat to the United States. He is also an ardent supporter of Israel and opposed concessions to Iran. In 2022, the politician advocated the allocation of weapons to Kiev and support for Ukraine in the conflict, but in 2024 he changed his position.

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Fact 3. He wrote a children's book, worked on television

Mike Waltz is also known as a publicist. He has published several books on the topic of leadership.: "Soldier-Diplomat: The Battles of the Green Beret from Washington to Afghanistan" and "The Cruel Truth: Think and Lead like a Green Beret." In 2022, Waltz first published a Christian book for children, Dawn of the Brave. Her heroes are animals, members of the Brave team, who will have to fight for the Island of Freedom.

• Waltz has made comments several times on the Fox News channel loyal to Republicans, mainly covering military and political topics. Many American resources even cover this fact as a job on a TV channel, and Waltz himself calls himself a former Fox News correspondent. The staff of the TV channel noted that he has a unique combination of "the experience of a special forces soldier and a politician."

Fact 4. Received USAID funding

• Waltz was one of the founders of the defense company Metis Solutions, which received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Founded in 2010, it was engaged in "strategic analysis, intelligence support and training" and was one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States.

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• Metis Solutions was developing a dubious program to develop artisanal mining in strategically important villages in Afghanistan. According to an investigation by The Intercept, the company received $1.8 million from USAID for this program. The projects were never implemented, and shortly before the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, the company was sold to a large military contractor Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE). According to analysts, this deal could bring Waltz up to $26 million, and PAE shares fell by 20% after the US military withdrew from Afghanistan. At the same time, Waltz is one of the most ardent critics of the withdrawal operation.

Fact 5. The culprit of the Alarm

• As a national security adviser in the Trump administration, Mike Waltz mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a secret chat in the Signal messenger. The chat discussed plans for U.S. strikes on Yemen and included unfavorable assessments of European allies. The leak of confidential data to the press led to a major scandal, which was called the Alarmgate (we wrote more about that story here).

• Despite the intercession of US President Donald Trump, Waltz failed to retain his position. According to Fox News, as a result of the Alarm, several employees of the National Security Council, including Waltz's deputy Alex Wong, were dismissed from their posts. Waltz himself left the position of adviser a few weeks later after the scandal.