Having the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee clear Mike Waltz in a bipartisan vote to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was an important hurdle. But time is short —the full Senate must act quickly to confirm him before the U.N. General Assembly convenes on Sept. 10.
The U.N. has a lot on its plate in Ukraine, Iran, Gaza and elsewhere. Not having the ambassadorship filled at this crucial juncture undermines America’s ability to address these problems effectively.
The Senate is famous for moving slowly, but there’s no excuse in this case. Waltz was nominated back on May 1. He ably handled his confirmation hearing and received the backing of the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). There is little doubt that he has the votes for confirmation.
In a dangerous world, with many of the 193 U.N. members antagonistic to U.S. policy, we need an ambassador who has deep experience, a firm hand, a talent for blunt talk, and the full support of the president, who has praised Waltz as a public servant who has “worked hard to put our nation’s interests first.”
Waltz may be the best-prepared U.N. ambassador’s in history, combining military, foreign policy, political and communications experience. As a Green Beret, he served in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. He is now a retired colonel who was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for valor.
Waltz served the secretary of Defense and the vice president in key advisory roles, was elected to Congress for three terms and sat on all national security committees: Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Armed Services, plus the House China Task Force. More recently, he was White House national security advisor. He also has media expertise, as a commentator who has appeared on nearly every network.
I also am fortunate enough to call him a friend, believing Special Forces combat veterans and VMI graduates are relatively few in number but can make significant contributions to the pursuit of peace through strength.
“With Waltz at the helm,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who introduced the nominee at the committee hearing, “the U.N. will have what I regard as … its last chance to demonstrate its actual value to the United States. Instead of progressive political virtue signaling, the Security Council has the chance to prove its value, settling disputes and brokering deals.”
Right now, that value is in question. In one recent example, President Trump clearly made the world safer with the bold decision to bomb Iran’s facilities for making nuclear weapons, but U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, condemned the American effort as a “dangerous escalation.”
The anti-American, pro-woke bias of the U.N. has been on full display in recent years, prompting the president to pull the U.S. out of the U.N. Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization and, on July 22, from UNESCO, the cultural organization. He also stopped funding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, whose staff members have been accused of working for Hamas.
“The United States helped found the United Nations after World War II to prevent future global conflicts and promote international peace and security,” Trump said in an executive order in February. “But some of the U.N.’s agencies and bodies have drifted from this mission and instead act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism.”
The president initiated a full review of U.S. involvement with the U.N., criticizing the organization for being more eager to take ideological stances and back our adversaries than to tackle difficult global issues.
This is a situation ripe for Mike Waltz, with his unique set of qualifications as a “warrior diplomat,” the title of his 2014 book.
He was blunt in his opening statement during the confirmation hearing, “As a former Congressman, I bring the perspective of representing hardworking Americans — welders, nurses, teachers, small business owners. If we were in a town hall, could we answer their questions on whether their dollars are well spent? And should we be in the UN at all?”
His answer is that the U.N. needs reform, but there is no denying its potential. “We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk — China, Russia, Europe, the developing world can resolve conflicts. But … we must return to the U.N. Charter’s first principles of preventing and resolving disputes.”
Trump has been successfully tackling the chaotic world he inherited, negotiating truces around the world, but challenges remain. Russia’s war against Ukraine continues, and Communist China is an ominous threat to the peace of the world with its designs on Taiwan.
Important peacekeeping missions such as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon are up for reauthorization. We need someone with Waltz’s combination of military and political experience to help ensure that any missions the U.S. finances can fulfill their objectives.
The full Senate should approve Waltz as soon as possible to implement the president’s agenda — and try one last time to bring the U.N. to its senses and the world to peace.
Robert Greenway is the director of The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for National Security.
