The former national security advisor, now U.N. ambassador nominee, was largely spared from expected questions over his participation in the ‘Signalgate’ controversy

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Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Former White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz laid out an aggressive approach to countering anti-Israel sentiment at the United Nations during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday to be U.S. ambassador to the global body, accusing the organization in his opening statement of “pervasive antisemitism.”
Waltz, a staunch supporter of Israel and an outspoken critic of Iran who was nominated for the U.N. post in May after being removed from his position as national security advisor, said he would seek to block “anti-Israel resolutions” in the General Assembly and would push for the dismantlement of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency over some of its employees’ involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
He also voiced support for U.S. sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Israel and the Palestinian territories, who has faced widespread accusations of espousing antisemitism in her commentary on Israel.
More broadly, Waltz — echoing the “America First” ethos of President Donald Trump — said he would “focus on peacekeeping, not nation-building,” and expressed support for the administration’s plans to slash funding to the U.N., calling for “major reform” to make the organization “great again.”
“The U.S. must ensure that every foreign aid dollar and every contribution to an international organization, particularly the U.N., draws a straight and direct line to a compelling U.S. national interest — one that puts America first, not last,” Waltz said.
Waltz was largely spared of the grilling he had been expected to face from Democrats at the hearing over his widely criticized handling of the use of a nonsecure messaging app to discuss sensitive U.S. attack plans in Yemen last March.
The so-called Signalgate controversy, in which Waltz inadvertently added a journalist to a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal while discussing a military operation against the Houthis with top Trump administration officials, was first raised around halfway into the two and a half hour hearing — after several Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had bypassed the topic in favor of other issues, such as countering China’s global influence.
Still, Waltz strained to defend his misuse of the app, claiming no classified information had been shared and suggesting he had been following Biden-era guidance that recommended the app for end-to-end encrypted chats.
“The use of Signal was not only authorized, it’s still authorized, and highly recommended,” Waltz said at the hearing.
He also said the White House had investigated the matter and no disciplinary action had been taken — while adding that the Defense Department was still conducting a review of the incident.
“I 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,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who first brought up the Signal controversy, said during the hearing.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who issued the most forceful remarks against Waltz, said he had no questions for the nominee, accusing him of lying about his involvement in the Signal debacle and failing to take accountability for his actions while smearing the journalist he had added to the chat.
“Smearing people, attacking folks, singling them out just compounds what I think is disqualifying about you for this position,” he said of the former Florida congressman and Green Beret. “It also, to me, just shows profound cowardice.”
Booker said he would not support Waltz’s nomination.
Despite such opposition, Waltz, who is expected to be confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate, was otherwise presented with a range of friendlier questions from Republicans on the panel, many of whom expressed concerns about the U.N.’s long-standing hostility toward Israel.
Trump had weighed firing Waltz in the wake of the Signal debacle, but ultimately chose to remove him from his national security post and nominate him to serve at the U.N., where he will be based in New York City rather than the West Wing — far removed from the internecine battles that plagued his brief time in the White House.
Near the end of the hearing, Waltz dismissed a new report that he has continued to receive a White House salary in recent months despite being removed from his role — calling the story “fake news.”
“I was not fired,” Waltz said in response to Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV). “The president never said that, nor did the vice president.”
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper also spoke at his confirmation hearing about the continued threat of Iranian proxies and U.S. engagement in Syria

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Vice Admiral Brad Cooper Commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command speaks during a press conference in front of the USS Port Royal (CG 73) Guided-missile cruiser at al-Shuaiba port, 35km South of Kuwait City on June 6, 2022.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command who is nominated to be the next CENTCOM head, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that the United States is prepared for the possibility that Iran will attempt to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz to close off the strategic waterway.
The Iranian parliament approved a move earlier this week to close the strait, but that decision would be dependent on the approval of the Iranian leadership, and it’s not clear whether the ceasefire between Israel and Iran might hold off such a move. Around a third of the world’s oil supply passes through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf and several Gulf states to the Arabian Sea.
The incoming CENTCOM leader, who previously led naval forces in CENTCOM and the Fifth Fleet based out of Bahrain, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. “has sufficient capacity and capability to handle the threat” of mining the Strait of Hormuz, and that it is keeping a close eye on Iranian movements that would signal such an operation is occurring.
“It would certainly be important for us to watch what they’re doing and attempt to both anticipate and then react faster than the threat,” Cooper said. “It’s a significant threat. It’s a known threat, and one that we’re watching.”
Cooper acknowledged that the potential shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would have “significant” impacts on U.S. operations in the Middle East. He said it would be a “complex problem,” given that Iran has stockpiles of thousands of mines, and noted that “historically in mine warfare, nothing happens quickly,” saying the operation would be a matter of “weeks and months, not days.”
Cooper said that U.S. and Israeli strikes, and particularly Israel’s successes against Iran and its proxies, have weakened and degraded Iran significantly, but added that Iran remains the primary destabilizing agent in the region and a sponsor of global terrorism.
“They possess considerable tactical capability, one element of which we saw yesterday,” Cooper said, referring to Iranian missile barrages at U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq. “We’ve got to be in a three point stance, ready to go every single day. “
Pressed repeatedly by Democrats on whether the U.S. is planning for a ground invasion or for regime change in Iran, Cooper declined to discuss specifics in public, stating that his role is and would be to provide options to the administration’s civilian leadership and to prepare for various potential scenarios.
Cooper added that “deterring Iran and its proxies … is a critical element of our national security,” noting as well that some of the Iranian-aligned militia groups in the region, as well as the Houthis, remain an active threat. He highlighted that Iranian proxies have attacked Americans around 500 times in the past 20 months.
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former director of operations for CENTCOM, who was testifying alongside Cooper, said that “the Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem that we’ll be dealing with in the future a few times again.”
Cooper said it might take several months for normal commercial trade to resume through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait after the U.S.-Houthi ceasefire agreement was reached last month.
Cooper said that the U.S. is prepared for a range of scenarios should the Houthis break the ceasefire. He also warned that the Yemeni terrorist group is “extremely well supplied by the Iranians” and is increasingly entrenching underground.
He added that, learning from Hamas, Iran and other groups in the region, U.S. adversaries entrenching underground is likely to be a growing problem in the future. He highlighted the work of Israel and U.S.-Israeli collaborative efforts to counter this threat.
Cooper emphasized concerns about the growing cooperation between U.S. adversaries such a Iran, China, Russia and North Korea. He expressed particular frustration about the flow, through Iran, of weapons components from China to the Houthis, and China’s longstanding failure to take action against the Houthis.
The vice admiral emphasized that the U.S.’ efforts in Syria going forward will be led by diplomacy and appear to be headed in a positive direction, but added that the U.S. must remain vigilant and active to focus on the ongoing threat from ISIS.
“Stability in Syria can translate into security in the United States,” Cooper said. “And here’s how those dots connect. ISIS thrives in chaos. If the government of Syria, now seven months into their existence, can help suppress that ISIS threat, along with the U.S. forces in the region, that stability helps create our own security. I’m optimistic for the future.”
He argued that now is not the time for the U.S. to be pulling back from the Middle East, and that any drawdown of troops from Syria — which the Trump administration has pursued — should be based on conditions on the ground, emphasizing that the U.S. remains the leader of the international coalition to combat ISIS.
Cooper said that the Abraham Accords and Israel’s incorporation into Central Command “presents extraordinary opportunities to advance security and enhance deterrence” in the region, and that he would continue to work on those relationships — a priority for the outgoing CENTCOM leader, Gen. Erik Kurilla.