Trump's National Security Pick: I'm On Same Page As Jake Sullivan About 'our Adversaries'

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) said Sunday that he has met with President Joe Biden’s National Security adviser Jake Sullivan — and that the two administrations are working collaboratively on national security issues during the transition.

“Jake Sullivan and I have had discussions, we’ve met,” Waltz said in an interview with Gillian Turner on “Fox News Sunday.” “For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity, that they can play one administration off the other — they are wrong.”

He added, “We are hand in glove. We are one team with the United States in this transition."

President-elect Donald Trump tapped Waltz, a Florida congressman and the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, to be his national security adviser in the upcoming administration. This was Waltz’s first television appearance since being picked, though Waltz is currently the member of Congress with the most appearances on Fox News.

Waltz also addressed some of the recent national security news, including the escalation of the war in Ukraine. He compared the Biden administration’s decision to let Ukraine use anti-personnel landmines as “World War I trench warfare.”

“The President-elect has been very concerned about the escalation and where it's all going,” Waltz said, when asked about Trump's reaction to the recent developments. “If North Korea has made this move, we have made a move. Russia has now responded. Iran is involved. South Korea's thinking about getting involved. Our allies have now extended the range of their missiles as well.

He added, “We need to bring this to a responsible end. We need to restore deterrence and peace and get ahead of this escalation later rather than responding to it.”

Waltz was also asked about the conflict in Gaza — and how the Trump administration broadly sees conflicts in the Middle East coming to an end. Waltz praised Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for operations against Hamas and Hezbollah, including the recent pager and walkie-talkie operation against Hezbollah. He noted that “Hamas has been devastated” and “Iran is incredibly exposed at this point.”

“I think now is a moment to craft some type of arrangement that doesn't just put a pause for future October 7ths — truly bring stability to the Middle East and sets the stage for what we saw just a few years ago with the Abraham Accords,” Waltz said, referencing treaties Israel struck during Trump's presidency with Morocco and some of its other semi-close neighbors.

“We had peace deals being signed on the White House lawn, just four years ago. Look at where we are today. I am confident President Trump and his leadership and the team he is putting around him will get us back to that point in pretty short order.”