Donald Trump announced various appointments to his administration today, including Lee Zeldin for EPA Administrator, Elise Stefanik for UN Ambassador, and a high-level policy role for Stephen Miller.

Who is Michael Waltz?

Florida Congressman Michael Waltz has been picked to serve as White House National Security Advisor to Donald Trump, raising questions about what this will mean for Ukraine and other US allies under the second Trump adminstration.

According to his congressional biography, Rep. Walz served in the US Armed Forces for decades as a Green Beret and was deployed to Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. During the Bush administration, he also served as defense policy advisor to then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, meaning this will not be his first time working in the executive branch.

Waltz is married to Julia Nesheiwat, who served in the first Trump adminstration as Homeland Security Advisor. In his bio he rights that he has a college-aged daughter, and a younger son.

Open Secrets, the government accountability organization, estimated the Congressman’s net worth to be $1,659,020 in 2018.

Where Waltz stands on sending military assistance to Ukraine

As the National Security Advisor, a role currently filled by Jake Sullivan under President Joe Biden, he will have Donald Trump’s ear regarding the administration’s foreign policy. One key issue will be Ukraine and its ongoing war with Russia, which escalated in 2022 with the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of the country. While many Republicans, including Rep. Waltz, initially supported US efforts to back Ukraine, many other members have since changed their position. Rep. Waltz stands in his own category as he is not opposed to sending money to support Ukraine, but that he cannot support the Biden adminstration’s current strategy (or lack thereof, according to the Congressman).

In September 2023, he released an Op-Ed for Fox News where he tried to tread a careful balance in his position. On the one hand, he argued that continued support for Ukraine was necessary because Russian President Vladimir Putin was attempting to rebuild the Soviet Union. “If Putin is successful in Ukraine, he won’t stop until he involves NATO countries, and the United States will be treaty obligated to send American troops to fight,” wrote the Florida Congressman, adding that “doing nothing in the face of aggression is how World War III will eventually start. He also described supporting Ukraine as “the right thing to do” when the war broke out but believed enough military support had been sent. Rep. Waltz accused the Biden adminstration of failing to explain “the American objective in Ukraine nor his strategy to achieve it,” which is why he said he would not support any additional military sending. Additionally, he cited other NATO member’s unwillingness to commit to the budgetary requirements as another reason funding had to be stopped. However, the Congressman left room for further spending to be sent but said that “the burden” of stopping Russia " cannot continue to be solely on the shoulders of the American people, especially while Western Europe gets a pass.”

Perhaps as National Security Advisor, he will create room for further military support to be sent to Ukraine if the adminstration creates its own objectives for the war and puts pressure on other NATO members to increase their spending for the organization.