Looks like the Trump White House is about to send some signals on foreign policy and national security, and that is not an unintentional reference. 

Mark Halperin first reported this morning that Donald Trump will shake up his nat-sec team after just three months, with Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong out the door first:

BREAKING NEWS: 3 sources say that @michaelgwaltz deputy NSC adviser Alex Wong & others there are on their way out as early as today.

More on "The Morning Meeting" on @2waytvapp LIVE at 9am EThttps://t.co/7Qn5jbWc1G

Unhappiness with Waltz's performance has been growing at…

— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) May 1, 2025

Unhappiness with Waltz's performance has been growing at State, Treasury, NEC, West Wing, and elsewhere.

IN as possible replacement: @SteveWitkoff who has backing from many senior officials.

OUT as possible replacement: State Dept Deputy Secretary @ChrisLandauUSA who is said to be doing too good a job where he is to move him over to the White House

CBS News followed up with corroboration from its own sources:

In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Goldberg published his account, and he initially omitted operational details, but after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied any classified information had been shared on the chat, Goldberg published that information, too, which included the timing of the strikes and the weapons packages used.

After Waltz admitted behind closed doors the authenticity of the reporting, White House officials debated whether he should resign, but Waltz never made the offer, and Mr. Trump did not ask him to step down at the time. Publicly, President Trump signaled his support for Waltz by calling him "a good man" who "learned a lesson."

According to CBS, Trump stalled on holding Waltz accountable for the embarrassing episode to keep the media from immediately claiming his scalp. At the time, many of us wondered whether Trump would be so opposed to giving the media a talking point that he would withhold accountability for a truly foolish and short-term costly error. Today's moves make it clear that Trump won't tolerate sloppiness to that degree, a vital message pour encourager les autres.

Fox reported it on-air a couple of hours later:

🚨 #BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are OUT, per FOX
pic.twitter.com/P719eQwtvS

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 1, 2025

Politico followed up a couple of hours after Halperin too, but after Fox as well. They still tried to claim credit for the scoop. Marc Caputo replied with receipts:

At 8:35 a.m., @MarkHalperin scooped the Waltz departure story, well before @politico’s 10:54 am post and the rest of ushttps://t.co/BEePQPdokY https://t.co/RlAnmtx1pS pic.twitter.com/0ojRH0dvJN

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) May 1, 2025

Politico's report didn't have as much detail as Halperin's, but that may be a feature than a bug. They caution that the decision isn't final, and their sources had less insight into potential successors:

The ouster could happen imminently but is not final, the people said. All were granted anonymity to discuss information that is not public.

Names for a replacement have been discussed around the West Wing for weeks, but the plans to remove Waltz potentially as soon as this week gained steam in recent days, according to two of the people and another person close to the White House.

If Trump brings Witkoff to the White House as a replacement, that may solve some other issues. Witkoff has rattled the Israelis with his direct engagement of (and suckering by) Hamas, and his engagements with Iran and Russia are raising concerns among Republicans as well. Trump could bring Witkoff back as nat-sec adviser and then choose a more experienced and informed hand to deal with negotiations in these high-risk conflicts. 

The White House has yet to address these reports, and much of the rest of the media still seems a step behind. As of 11:35 am, the New York Times has nothing, and the Washington Post only posted a brief report based on two unnamed sources. The White House didn't issue a denial (yet) but said instead that they would not respond to anonymously sourced reports about personnel. Stay tuned. 

Update: I replied to a good question from VIP member anon-shh5 in the comments, but it's worth briefly discussing in the main post. The question was, "How would these concerns be addressed by putting him in an even more powerful and consequential position?" It's a fair point, but anyone who's worked in large orgs probably knows the answer. Both Waltz and his deputy got booted, so two positions are open. Trump could appoint Witkoff in the main role while appointing an experienced and competent deputy and rely on the latter. After a few more months, Trump could then move Witkoff into a different role -- say, an ambassador to a country of Witkoff's choosing. (It won't be Israel or Ukraine, you can bet.) 

I'm not saying that's what will happen. But it certainly could play out that way. 

Update: Hmmmmmm:

NSC PURGE: According to a White House source, "There will be more departures."

... developing ...

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) May 1, 2025

Sperry is usually pretty reliable. Stay tuned, indeed. 

Update: Stau tuned? Ugh. I meant stay tuned. I've fixed it in the previous update, but we can also note that Waltz will remain in the administration. And it won't be Witkoff replacing him, at least not yet:

Former National Security Advisor Michael Waltz already has a new job: Ambassador to the UN

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now National Security Advisor pic.twitter.com/4m7nxJvf37

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) May 1, 2025

Rubio makes sense as an interim NSA, but not in the long term. Trump needs someone focused on the role. This does allow Trump more time to choose a replacement, and it suggests that Witkoff may not have made the sale after all. If so, he would have transferred immediately. As for Waltz, this keeps him inside the tent, allows him to save some face, and fills a truly important role that has remained empty since Stefanik had to back out of the nomination. But Trump better expect Senate Democrats to rake him over the coals on the Signal scandalette.