Waltz pointed to guidance under former President Joe Biden that allowed the use of Signal, which is encrypted, and said the White House has not taken disciplinary action.
“The use of Signal was not only authorised, it’s still authorised and highly recommended,” Waltz said, while insisting the chat did not exchange “classified” information.
Democrat Senator Chris Coons was incredulous over his explanation and voiced alarm that the White House has not taken any corrective action.
“You were sharing details about an upcoming airstrike – the time of launch and the potential targets. I mean, this was demonstrably sensitive information.”
Waltz, a former congressman and special forces officer, survived little more than three months as national security adviser before Trump on May 1 replaced him with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is juggling both jobs.
Waltz did not deny he has kept taking his salary, saying he was not “fired” and still served as “an adviser”.
Senator Jacky Rosen, raising the salary issue, contrasted Waltz’s actions with his vow to “root out waste and unnecessary overhead at the UN”.
Trump has aggressively cut US assistance overseas and pulled the United States out of several UN-backed bodies.
Waltz vowed to press for reforms at the United Nations, accusing it of “antisemitism” and “radical politicisation” for criticisms of Israel and the United States, even though the US is the organisation’s largest funder.
The UN, he said, has “drifted from its core mission of peacemaking”.
“The UN’s overall revenue has quadrupled in the last 20 years, yet I would argue we have not seen a quadrupling of world peace,” Waltz said.
- Agence France-Presse
