Washington, USA: President-elect Donald Trump made a significant move on Monday by appointing Mike Waltz, a Congressman from Florida and co-chair of the India Caucus, as his new National Security Advisor.

Waltz, 50, is a retired Army colonel with a distinguished background as a Green Beret, a special forces unit in the U.S. Army. He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019 and has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden's foreign policy. Waltz is currently a member of several key committees, including the House Armed Services Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Intelligence Committee.

Waltz has been outspoken in advocating for increased European support for Ukraine and has called for the U.S. to take a firmer stance in its backing, aligning with one of Trump’s foreign policy goals. He has also been a critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.

While Waltz has praised Trump for encouraging NATO allies to increase defense spending, he has not supported the idea of the U.S. withdrawing from the alliance, as Trump has previously suggested.

He is also part of the Republican China task force and has raised concerns about the readiness of the U.S. military in the event of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

Waltz has expressed his willingness to serve in the Trump administration and was even considered for the position of Pentagon chief. The role of National Security Advisor, unlike other positions, does not require Senate confirmation.

In addition to his role in the India Caucus, the largest country-specific group in the U.S. Congress, Waltz will play a crucial role in shaping national security policies.

Trump has been rapidly assembling his administration's leadership team, which includes appointments such as Susan Wiles as White House Chief of Staff, making her the first woman to hold the position, and Stephen Miller as a senior adviser, who has been a vocal opponent of the H-1B visa program.

Other notable appointments include Tom Homan as the "border czar," Elise Stefanik as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and Lee Zeldin as the Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

Waltz, originally from Boynton Beach, Florida, and raised in Jacksonville, is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. He served for 27 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard.

As National Security Advisor, Waltz will work closely with India's NSA Ajit Doval, who has dealt with various U.S. NSAs during the Trump administration, including Michael Flynn, H.R. McMaster, John Bolton, and Robert O'Brien. Doval also worked with Jake Sullivan, the current NSA to President Joe Biden, who is expected to complete his term by January 20, 2025.