Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations has been grilled by lawmakers for the first time since he was ousted as national security adviser in the weeks after he added a journalist to a private Signal chat used to discuss sensitive military plans.
During the hearing, Waltz said he will veto “anti-Israel” resolutions at the United Nations Security Council.
Waltz made the commitment in response to a question by Senator John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, who said "the Palestinian Authority has repeatedly sought to use the United Nations as a platform to declare statehood."
The senator then asked if Waltz would block "one-sided anti-Israel resolutions."
"Yes," Waltz replied, later adding, "Of course I will work closely with the president, secretary on those votes, but yes."
The 193-member UN General Assembly has approved Palestine as a non-member observer state of the United Nations.
Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, has repeatedly called for full UN membership for Palestine.
Its admission as the 194th member of the United Nations would require approval by all five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council including the United States.
Waltz’s hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee provides senators with the first opportunity to grill Waltz over revelations in March that he added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an unclassified messaging app that was used to discuss planning for strikes on Houthis in Yemen.
Waltz has spent the last few months on the White House payroll despite being removed as national security adviser.
The latest list of White House salaries, current as of July 1, includes Waltz earning an annual salary of $195,200.
Signal chat scandal
Meanwhile, Waltz continued to face the criticism of lawmakers for the now-infamous group chat on the encrypted app.
"We both know Signal is not an appropriate and secure means of communicating highly sensitive information," said Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.
He said Waltz had shared "demonstrably sensitive information" in an improper manner in March via the now-infamous group chat on the encrypted app.
Waltz repeatedly said the chat met the administration’s cybersecurity standards, that "no classified information was shared," and that the military was still conducting an ongoing investigation.
He said he and Coons "have a fundamental disagreement" about concerns over the situation.
Coons remained skeptical.
"It doesn’t seem to me that the administration has taken any action to make sure this doesn’t happen again. There's been no consequences, and yet the president continues to denounce those who leak information," he said.