Mike Waltz faces grilling in bid to become next US envoy to UN

Morgan Ortagus, who formerly oversaw Lebanon file, joins US mission at world body as a top adviser

Mike Waltz is President Donald Trump's nominee for US ambassador to the UN. AFP

Mike Waltz, the nominee for US ambassador to the UN, will appear at Capitol Hill this week in what is expected to be a contentious confirmation hearing focusing on American foreign policy and his conduct while national security adviser.

President Donald Trump removed Mr Waltz from that role in May, following revelations that he had added a journalist to a Signal chat group in which military plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen were being discussed.

Mr Waltz's move to the UN was widely seen as a demotion, particularly given the Trump administration's disdain for many of the world body's functions. The administration also accuses the UN of anti-Israel bias.

Mr Waltz, who retired from the National Guard at the rank of colonel and served three terms as Republican congressman, did not have to go through a confirmation process to become national security adviser.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee running Tuesday's confirmation hearing, predicted Mr Waltz would face tough questioning.

“It will be a brutal, brutal hearing,” she told CBS in May. “He's not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain.”

Mr Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to work as interim national security adviser.

If confirmed, Mr Waltz will be joined by Morgan Ortagus at the UN. She until recently served as deputy special envoy to the Middle East and was overseeing the Lebanon portfolio.

“Morgan Ortagus has joined the US Mission to the United Nations to advise on policy, and she continues to liaise with the White House and senior officials in Washington,” a State Department representative told The National.

Mr Waltz would replace former president Joe Biden’s UN envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who faced backlash for vetoes of humanitarian resolutions for Gaza.

Since resuming office on January 20, Mr Trump has withdrawn US participation in the UN Human Rights Council, continued the suspension of funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and initiated a review of the UN cultural agency Unesco.

Mr Trump has also declared US intentions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organisation.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former president Joe Biden’s UN envoy, faced backlash for vetoes of humanitarian resolutions for Gaza. Reuters