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National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong are expected to leave President Donald Trump’s administration, according to three sources with knowledge of the expected departure.
Waltz, a former Florida House member, has been on the volatile ground with Trump since March after inadvertently adding journalists on messaging app signals with other national security officials to discuss Yemen’s military strike.
White House officials declined to comment when asked about the expected departure of Waltz and Wong.
Screenshots of the Atlantic-shared signal chat showed that a user named “Michael Waltz” first added the magazine’s top editor Jeffrey Goldberg to the high-level discussion.
Waltz was held responsible for the incident in a March interview with Fox News.
“I’m totally responsible. I created a group,” Waltz told host Laura Ingraham. “My job is to make sure everything is adjusted.”
“Michael Waltz learned a lesson and he’s a good guy,” Trump stood by the Waltz a few days after the Atlantic Report.
But speaking to an Atlantic reporter last week, Trump wasn’t particularly steady. Trump said Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, who also participated in the group chat, was “safe.”
“Would he stay longer than Mike Waltz?” asked Ashley Parker of the Atlantic.
“The waltz is fine,” Trump said. “I mean, he’s here. He just left this office. He’s fine. He’s beaten too.”
Despite public support for Trump’s waltz, he personally vented his frustration with him days after the incident was released, but two Republican sources with knowledge of the conversation told NBC News at the time.
Waltz appears not to be attending the Rose Garden ceremony Thursday morning, in which the president and many other senior administrations attended, and Trump’s remarks did not mention welcoming attendees.
Waltz paid tribute to Trump at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“We have been respectful and powerful for your leadership for 100 days,” Waltz said. “It’s an honor to serve you in this administration and I think the world is much better and much safer.”
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
Here are five things you need to know about Rep. Mike Waltz.
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