The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Michael Waltz as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Sept. 19, 2025. The Senate voted 47-43 in favor of his nomination, with 44 Republicans and three Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), voting in favor. There were 41 Democrats who voted against the nomination, along with one independent who caucuses with Democrats, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), and one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). This was the final member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term. 

Trump announced on May 1, 2025, that he had selected Waltz as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. This was the second nominee for the position, following the initial nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) in Nov. 2024. Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination in March 2025.  

Trump said of Waltz’s nomination, “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.” The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing for Waltz on July 15, 2025, and voted 12-10 to advance his nomination. Waltz’s nomination was returned to the Foreign Relations Committee due to procedural issues on Sept. 17, and Waltz was voted out of committee again in an 11-10 vote.

Waltz received a bachelor’s degree from the Virginia Military Institute in 1996. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Army. Waltz served in the U.S. military for over 20 years and is the first retired Green Beret to win election to the U.S. House. He was a defense policy director in the Pentagon and a counterterrorism policy adviser for former Vice President Dick Cheney. Waltz also co-founded a small business of over 400 employees. From 2019 to 2025, Waltz represented Florida’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Waltz served as national security advisor in the second Trump administration from January 20, 2025, until his nomination as U.N. ambassador on May 1.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.