Mike Waltz has finally been confirmed as President Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations.

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President Trump had first nominated then-Congressman Waltz as his National Security Advisor, which does not require Senate confirmation. But after a reshuffling of the deck in May of 2025, when Mr. Trump asked Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, his first nomination to U.N. Ambassador, to remain in Congress, Mr. Waltz left his post as National Security Advisor.

President Trump immediately nominated Mr. Waltz to be his U.N. Ambassador, saying in his announcement, “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress, and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”

President Trump has also called Ambassador Waltz “a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!”

Soldier, Businessman, Congressman, Author

Ambassador. Waltz was born in Boynton Beach, Florida, on January 31, 1974. He was raised by a single mother. He went to Virginia Military Institute on an Army ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in international studies. He joined the army later that year.

He graduated from Army Ranger School and served in the elite Green Berets. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Forces. He left active duty in 2000 and served in the Maryland National Guard from 2001 to 2023, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

While in the reserves, Ambassador Waltz began his government career in 2004 at the Pentagon as a defense policy director for the Bush Secretaries of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. He moved from the Pentagon to the White House to work for then-Vice President Dick Cheney, focusing on counterterrorism. In attending meetings regarding the Afghan war., Mr. Waltz often sat in disbelief, listening to generals give a rosy assessment of the war’s progress.

Ambassador Waltz left government service in 2011 and co-founded two private companies focused on national security. One was Askari Associates LLC, a small geopolitical consulting firm. The other was Metis Solutions LLC, a defense contractor.

He became a Fox News commentator on national security and a critic of Obama’s foreign policy. He announced his candidacy for Congress on Fox and Friends in 2018.

On the 75^th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, Ambassador Waltz took part in the reenactment of WWII 82^nd and 101^st Airborne paratroopers jumping out of planes in 1944. Mr. Waltz says, “It was an unforgettable experience to make the same jump so many brave men made to defend Europe and the world during World War II. I’m very thankful for their service and sacrifices and was honored to have paid tribute to them this weekend.” You can see Ambassador Waltz’s video of his jump into Normandy here.

The ambassador is a best-selling author of numerous books, including a Christian children’s book, Dawn of the Brave, that teaches children the importance of service.

Ambassador Waltz married Dr Julia Nesheiwat in August of 2021. Dr. Nesheiwat is also a combat veteran and served in the first Trump administration as his Homeland Security Advisor. They have a 3-year-old son, Armand, and he has a daughter in college, Anderson, from a previous marriage.

An Impressive Military Career

Ambassador Waltz has a distinguished 27-year military career with multiple tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He was awarded four Bronze Stars, two for valor.

In one of his deployments to Afghanistan in 2006, his convoy was ambushed by the Taliban armed with mortars and rocket launchers. One of his comrades was hit by a Taliban sniper and was bleeding out. Under fire, Captain Waltz applied a tourniquet to slow the bleeding. Mr. Waltz was then knocked out by a Taliban rocket that hit close to him. But he got up and returned fire. The convoy managed to escape with no casualties.

After his deployment ended, he returned to his Pentagon job and noticed a difference in how Washington viewed the Afghan war and what he had seen on the ground. With the Bush administration focused on the war in Iraq, Afghanistan was farmed out to the poorly equipped and politicized NATO. Like President Trump, he is critical of the NATO alliance, believing Europe needs to step up its responsibilities.

He was again deployed to Afghanistan in March of 2009 and led Special Forces teams into hostile territory to find missing soldier Beau Bergdahl. Mr. Waltz viewed him as a deserter endangering soldiers’ lives in their search, while Obama praised Bergdahl in the Rose Garden as a hero. Bergdahl later admitted he had deserted his post and had been captured by the Taliban.

Mr. Waltz became discouraged by the Obama administration’s focus on how to “end” the war instead of how to win the war, according to his 2014 book, Warrior Diplomat. His wartime experiences have also had a deep and lasting impact on his outlook. In 2024, he published Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret.

His Time in Congress

Ambassador Waltz has served three terms in Congress after his election in 2018 as representative of Florida’s 6^th Congressional District. He succeeded Ron DeSantis, who had become Florida’s governor. He was endorsed by President Trump and was the first Green Beret elected to Congress. While in the House, he co-founded the For Country Caucus with combat veterans as members.

Representative Waltz served as chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on readiness and shares President Trump’s view on wokeness in the military. In 2023, he said, “I am ready to get to work to better equip our military and turn our focus away from woke priorities and back to winning wars. Our national security depends on it.”

He was also a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House China Task Force.

He has been very critical of Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. He has called for those responsible for the tragic deaths of 13 service members killed at Abbey Gate to be held accountable. He also believes the incompetence of the withdrawal emboldened Putin to invade Ukraine.

In 2022, Representative Waltz voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton, recognizing marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. The Respect for Marriage Act enshrined same-sex marriages into law and was signed into law by Joe Biden on December 13th, 2022.

A long and winding road to confirmation

The position of U.N. Ambassador does require Senate confirmation. Even though President Trump nominated Mr. Waltz on May 1^st, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee waited until mid-July to schedule hearings.

At his confirmation hearing, Ambassador Waltz pledged to push for reforms at the United Nations. The United States is the largest financial contributor to the U.N.. Waltz plans to use that fact as leverage to reform the U.N., saying, “If you look at when reform has actually happened,” he said, “it is when the United States has said, ‘You know what, we need to actually see things before the U.S. taxpayer continues to write checks.’”

Ambassador Waltz describes the U.N. as “bloated, ineffectual and overly politicized”. He also vows to push back against China at the U.N. and combat the U.N. for being a “hotbed of antisemitism,” as evidenced by the 174 resolutions passed in the past 10 years condemning Israel, far more than the U.N.’s condemnations of the rest of the world combined.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) held up the vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance the nomination to the floor of the Senate. After much persuasion, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) flipped her vote to yes, advancing Mr. Waltz’s confirmation vote to the full Senate on July 24^th.

But then, the Democrats in the Senate decided they would delay votes on all of President Trump’s nominees to administrative positions using procedural hijinks. Mr. Waltz’s confirmation got tied up in that Senate stand-off.

On September 11^th, Senate Majority Leader John Thune had had enough of the delays. He triggered the so-called “nuclear option” and changed the procedural rules to speed up confirmation votes.

Ambassador Waltz was finally confirmed by the Senate on September 19, 2025.

A U.N. Ambassador’s Top Job

In his first full week as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Waltz demanded Hamad release the remaining hostages and urged Russia to end the war with Ukraine.

Ambassador Waltz’s top job is to be an effective and persuasive advocate for the U.S.’s positions to the world, on issues such as human rights and terrorism.

His most important work takes place at the U.N. Security Council where resolutions are drafted, debated and voted on and considered binding under international law. The Council also has the authority to deploy U.N. peacekeepers to conflict areas.

The U.S. Ambassador is also one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Only the permanent members can veto a resolution.

Ambassador Waltz faces many challenges in his new role as he advocates for President Trump’s America First agenda at an unfriendly U.N. The ambassador’s top goal is to return the U.N. to its original goals of preventing wars and maintaining peace.

For more information about Ambassador Waltz’s challenges at the U.N., please see the IFA article, The Worst of Times for the U.N. is the Best of Times for Mike Waltz.

Let’s Pray for U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz

1. Pray for Ambassador Mike Waltz to be led by the Holy Spirit in all his dealings and negotiations with foreign countries. May God give him all the skills he needs to carry out His will for our nation and the world in this time.
2. Pray for God’s wisdom and discernment for Mr. Waltz and that the Lord will equip his leadership with knowledge, courage, effectiveness, and mercy.
3. Pray that Mr. Waltz is a wise, faithful, and true counselor to President Trump and a bold advocate at the U.N. for the United States’s righteous positions as established by God.
4. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and that Ambassador Waltz would be used by God to bring about His will for Israel and all the nations.
5. Pray for protection for Ambassador Waltz and his family against any spiritual and physical harm. May no weapon formed against him prevail. Pray that the ambassador and his family would draw closer to Jesus, and they would seek His face and do His will. May Ambassador Waltz be strong and courageous in the Lord and His mighty power.

Share your prayers and scriptures for Ambassador Waltz below.

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.