Latest news with #MikeWaltz
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The weirdest Venmo request yet: The U.S. government
Next time you Venmo a pal for that dinner from the other night, consider tossing a few bucks to the federal government. The U.S. government operates a website that lets anyone donate toward paying down the national debt, apparently, and now it takes Venmo. Here's why Trump's proposed 401(k) executive order may be very bad news for your retirement Apple iOS 26 is now available to the public. Here's how to get it—and 5 useful new features to try Why Third Amendment memes are suddenly taking over social media Jack Corbett from NPR's Planet Money first spotted the change, which added the app into the mix as a payment option. If you've lost your Venmo password, never fear, you can still help reduce the public debt with a bank account, debit/credit card, or even a PayPal account. It's not immediately clear who decided to add a payments app mostly used for settling rounds of drinks to the U.S. Treasury website, but Trump administration officials do have a preference for Venmo, which is infamous for making users' transactions and friends lists public. Mike Waltz, former national security adviser, not known for his OPSEC (that's 'operational security' for the uninitiated) was spotted with a public Venmo contact list prior to being ousted from the administration. It's difficult to imagine any American actually tossing money at the federal government beyond what they pay in taxes, but those rare souls do exist—and they've been giving the U.S. government cash for decades, sometimes doling out more than $1 million at once. The U.S. currently operates $36.7 trillion in debt, which unfortunately renders the almost $70 million donated since 1996 totally insignificant. If you've got expendable income, almost anything seems like a better option. It's been a particularly rough month. Not only did Trump's 'big beautiful bill' slash hundreds of billions from Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, but it will also tack another $3.4 trillion onto the national debt over the next 10 years. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


Fast Company
5 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
The weirdest Venmo request yet: The U.S. government
Next time you Venmo a pal for that dinner from the other night, consider tossing a few bucks to the federal government. The U.S. government operates a website that lets anyone donate toward paying down the national debt, apparently, and now it takes Venmo. Jack Corbett from NPR's Planet Money first spotted the change, which added the app into the mix as a payment option. If you've lost your Venmo password, never fear, you can still help reduce the public debt with a bank account, debit/credit card, or even a PayPal account. It's not immediately clear who decided to add a payments app mostly used for settling rounds of drinks to the U.S. Treasury website, but Trump administration officials do have a preference for Venmo, which is infamous for making users' transactions and friends lists public. Mike Waltz, former national security adviser, not known for his OPSEC, was spotted with a public Venmo contact list prior to being ousted from the administration. It's difficult to imagine any American actually tossing money at the federal government beyond what they pay in taxes, but those rare souls do exist—and they've been giving the U.S. government cash for decades, sometimes doling out more than $1 million at once. The U.S. currently operates $36.7 trillion in debt, which unfortunately renders the almost $70 million donated since 1996 totally insignificant. If you've got expendable income, almost anything seems like a better option. It's been a particularly rough month. Not only did Trump's ' big beautiful bill ' slash hundreds of billions from Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, but it will also tack another $3.4 trillion onto the national debt over the next 10 years.


New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Mike Waltz's nomination for UN ambassador clears key committee
Mike Waltz's nomination to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations cleared a key hurdle Thursday, inching the former National Security Advisor closer to getting confirmed by the Senate. In a 12–10 vote, the GOP-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to recommend him to a full floor vote, with support from ranking member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) crossing the aisle. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), however, complicated efforts to advance Waltz's nomination, agreeing to move him forward but without backing a recommendation — a move that prompted Republicans to court Shaheen. Shaheen ultimately agreed to back him after the State Department agreed to unlock some $75 million in aid to Nigeria and Haiti. She described him as a 'moderating force' and vowed to hold him accountable going forward. 3 President Trump nominated Mike Waltz for UN ambassador after the Signalgate snafu. AFP via Getty Images 3 Sen. Jeanne Shaheen crossed party lines to get Mike Waltz through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Shutterstock 'In a Situation Room filled with people like Vice President Vance and Under Secretary Colby, who want to retreat from the world, and like Secretary Hegseth, I think we're better off having someone like Mike Waltz present,' Shaheen told Axios. Without Shaheen crossing party lines, Waltz's nomination was poised to fail in a tie committee vote. Paul, a Libertarian-leaning Republican, had fussed that Walz seemed too hawkish on foreign policy matters for his liking. During a confirmation hearing, he pressed Waltz over his past efforts to keep troops in Afghanistan while he was serving in the House under the first Trump administration. Looming over Waltz's nomination had been Signalgate. Back in March, while serving as national security adviser, Waltz inadvertently added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat to plan out strikes against the Houthis. 3 Sen. Rand Paul had been uneasy about Mike Waltz's nomination. Getty Images Goldberg later publicly released the messages sent on that chat, which included detailed information from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about US military strike plans for the mid-March attack. President Trump later announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be filling in the national security adviser role and that he would tap Waltz for the UN ambassadorship. Trump previously announced Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as his UN ambassador designate, but ultimately withdrew that nomination for fear Republicans could lose her House seat, threatening to winnow their razor-thin majority. Dorothy Shea has been serving as the US ambassador to the UN in the interim. Waltz had been pressed on Signalgate during his confirmation hearing by Democrats who questioned his judgment and subsequent handling of the debacle. During the time between his departure from the national security adviser role to his Senate confirmation, Waltz had maintained a paycheck from the White House to remain as an adviser.


The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Will Mike Waltz lead a ‘full-frontal assault' on the UN?
When and if Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, takes up the post, many are concerned that in his pursuit of the rehabilitation of his image, global development will not be a priority. Diplomats work for decades to be considered for the coveted position of ambassador, but in this case the role is a consolation prize for the 51-year-old former army colonel from Florida, says Richard Gowan, UN director of International Crisis Group. Gowan believes Waltz will be 'very performative' as he attempts to rebuild his political brand after the scandal of reportedly adding a journalist to a Signal chat that contained sensitive information on planned military strikes in Yemen. He will have to follow the line coming from Washington, says Gowan. 'There is a history of American politicians using the UN as a way to burnish their domestic credentials.' Global development professionals are concerned about what a hawkish Republican wanting to regain favour post-scandal could mean for the UN at a time when Trump is already causing significant damage to aid and development work. In a Senate confirmation hearing this week, Waltz said he would push for transparency and reforms within the UN while pursuing an 'America first' agenda that would see the US ensuring 'that every foreign aid dollar and every contribution to an international organisation, particularly the UN, draws a straight and direct line to a compelling US national interest'. Since January, the US has withdrawn its funding from several UN agencies, called for reviews of its involvement in all UN treaties and stopped engaging with the UN human rights council. Simultaneously, it has dismantled much of its own USAID agency. The US has historically been the largest donor to the UN. 'This has put the UN in a huge financial crisis,' says Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, adding that it compromises humanitarian and human rights work globally. The appointment could also jeopardise global targets such as the sustainable development goals, says Beth Schlachter, senior director of US external relations at the family planning non-profit MSI Reproductive Choices. The Trump administration has denounced the goals as 'adverse to the rights and interests of Americans', and Schlachter believes its anti-rights stance influenced the omission of sexual and reproductive health rights from a UN political declaration on the human rights of women and girls this year. 'How is there an agreement on women's issues if you don't agree to include that?' she asks. There was once consensus among member states on foundational UN agreements, and disagreements were about new additions, but now, led by the US, the basics can't even be agreed upon, says Schlachter. With that in mind, the US is 'staffing themselves to be able to pull things down', she says. Waltz, who was vocal in his support for the 2022 Dobbs decision which upended Roe v Wade, limiting a woman's right to an abortion in the US, and questioned the UN's work on climate change at this week's hearing, is of particular concern. Many UN projects focus on providing access to sexual health and reproductive rights and combatting the impact of global warming. He has, however, also shown support for human rights. In 2021, he was among the first members of Congress to call for the US to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in protest at China's treatment of the Uyghur ethnic minority group. He told the Senate that the US needs a strong voice to counter China and if he is able to take a strong stance on China's abuse of human rights and push these issues at the UN, that would be great, says Charbonneau. In New York, UN officials and diplomats are simply happy at the prospect of the role being filled, says Gowan. It has been vacant since Trump took office in January. 'And there's been no real political representative of the White House here that other countries can bargain with … [or] who represents Trump that [António] Guterres can talk to,' he says. But that doesn't stop experts fearing that at the annual UN general assembly in September, Waltz will lead 'an incredibly damaging full-frontal assault on the UN, its legitimacy as an organisation and the specific things that they don't like – clearly everything related to women', says Schlachter.


NHK
16-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
US nominee to be UN ambassador says he will work to counter China
US President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations has said he will push to reduce costs and oppose China's growing influence at the global body. Mike Waltz made the comments on Tuesday, while attending a US Senate confirmation hearing on his appointment. Waltz served as national security advisor at the beginning of Trump's second term. But the president appointed him as UN ambassador in May amid criticism over Waltz's use of a private messaging app that resulted in the leak of information about a military operation. Waltz criticized the UN at the Senate hearing, saying, "The UN has ballooned to over 80 agencies with overlapping missions that waste resources." He also said that if confirmed he will push for cost reductions and other reforms. Waltz added he was "confident we can make the UN great again," under Trump's leadership. He also spoke about China, which is the second-largest financial contributor to the UN after the US, and is expanding its influence. Waltz said he supports any initiative to "block and tackle Chinese Communist Party influence." Senator Jeanne Shaheen of the opposition Democratic Party stressed in response that China is moving in to fill the void as the Trump administration presses ahead with budget cuts related to the UN and foreign aid. The senator added that a consistent policy is needed to push back against China's influence.