The US President Donald Trumpʼs special representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff has told his inner circle that he does not want to serve as Trumpʼs national security adviser.
CNN reports this, citing sources.
The position of national security adviser is currently held by Mike Waltz. The White House has not officially announced his resignation, but CBS, The New York Times, Politico and other publications have learned that the dismissal will take place on May 1. Fox News sources report that Waltz has already been fired.
The CBS sources also doubt that Witkoff will become an advisor to Trump. Politicoʼs interlocutors, on the contrary, speak of support for Witkoffʼs candidacy in the White House.
"Why would he [change his position]? To do interagency management instead of what heʼs doing now?" says the CNN source.
According to sources, Witkoff could still become an adviser if Trump personally asks him. They are longtime friends and partners. The national security adviser is part of the US National Security Council, which advises and assists the president on foreign policy and security issues. In addition, it is the presidentʼs main tool for coordinating this policy between various government departments.
Despite his position as special envoy for the Middle East, Witkoff is involved in negotiations with Russia and Ukraine. He has flown to Moscow several times for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and has since spread Russian narratives.
What happened?
Trumpʼs national security adviser, Mike Waltz, found himself at the center of a scandal in March 2025. He accidentally added a journalist from The Atlantic, a Trump-critical publication, to a chat with other members of the National Security Council. There, they were discussing future strikes on Yemenʼs Houthis. The Atlantic later released several materials based on the officialsʼ correspondence.
The Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been particularly criticized. The entire circumstances of the scandal, dubbed “Signal” gate, are being investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Defense. Waltz admitted that he accidentally added a journalist to the chat, but the White House denies that classified information was posted there.
Trump did not fire Waltz and publicly supported him, calling him “a good guy who admitted his mistake”. However, CNN sources are convinced that Waltz has failed to restore the lost trust in the presidential administration and Trump’s personal trust. If Waltz is fired, it would be the first major personnel reshuffle since Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.
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