(WASHINGTON) — Mike Waltz, former national security adviser who left his position in May in the wake of the Signal chat controversy in March, faced questions Tuesday from Democratic senators over the episode in his confirmation hearing for his nomination as United Nations ambassador.
Waltz insisted, as White House officials have since the incident, that no classified information was shared in a group chat that he inadvertently invited a journalist to that discussed details of a strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen. And he suggested the use of Signal was not only appropriate — but actually prudent, given the guidance he was following.
“That engagement was driven by and recommended by the Cyber Security Infrastructure Security Agency, by the Biden administration … the use of signal is not only as an encrypted app. It’s not only authorized. It was recommended in Biden’s, the Biden era, CISA guidance,” he told Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
“We followed the recommendation — almost the demand to use end-to-end encryption — but there was no classified information shared,” he told Coons.
Coons said he “was hoping to hear from you that you had some sense of regret over sharing what was very sensitive, timely information about a military strike on a commercially available app that’s not, as we both know, the appropriate way to share such critical information.”
“Senator, I think where we have a fundamental disagreement is there was no classified information on that, on that chat,” Waltz replied.
But Sen. Tim Kaine,D-Va., pointed out that investigations at the Pentagon by the Inspector General and the Air Force have not reached a conclusion on the question — although Kaine didn’t suggest Waltz himself shared classified information.
“I shouldn’t and can’t comment on ongoing investigations” at the Pentagon, Waltz said.
“The fact of the matter is,” Kaine said, “there are two investigations going on at the Pentagon precisely to determine in an objective and independent way whether classified information was shared, [or] at a minimum … attack plans with sensitive military information that shouldn’t have been shared.
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, introduced Waltz before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and touted his experience.
“He is a seasoned policy mind, a skilled negotiator with a track record of diligently pursuing American interests unapologetically and with the appropriate amount of caution and attention to detail that those things deserve,” Lee said.
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Waltz would “exceed expectations” in the role at the United Nations.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the committee, focused her opening remarks on criticism of the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. diplomatic budget.
“President Trump has said that the U.N. must return to its core mission of peace and security, but the administration is also proposing to slash U.S. contributions to the U.N. and eliminate the entire U.N. peacekeeping budget, increasing the likelihood that American soldiers will be sent into combat zones, and making China the largest U.N. peacekeeping and financial contributor,” Shaheen said, noting that at the same time, China was ramping up its investments in the U.N.
“Mr. Waltz, I urge you to take this threat seriously,” she added.
Waltz came under intense scrutiny in March for inadvertently inviting The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top national security officials discussing details of the strike on the Houthis.
President Donald Trump nominated Waltz to the U.N. post at the same time he announced Secretary of State Marco Rubio would take over the national security adviser on an interim basis.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., pressed Waltz on remaining on the White House payroll despite no longer serving as national security adviser.
“Can you confirm for us whether you have been receiving a salary from the White House since being let go from the NSA?” Rosen asked.
“Thank you, Senator. I was not fired. The president never said that, nor did the vice president. I was kept on as an adviser, transitioning a number of important — a number of important activities, and now hope to be confirmed,” Waltz responded, calling reports of his dismissal “fake news.”
“You know, fake news can’t be the answer to everything,” Rosen retorted.
Before taking the role as national security adviser, Waltz served three terms in Congress representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District and sat on the Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. He was the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress.
During the presidential campaign, he was a key Trump surrogate on defense and foreign policy.
Before running for elected office, Waltz served in various national security policy roles in the George W. Bush administration in the Pentagon and White House. He retired as a colonel after serving 27 years in the Army and the National Guard.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Will Steakin, Mary Bruce, Hannah Demissie and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
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