From PBS NewsHour.

The United States will seek to ensure the selection of a new United Nations secretary general that is ‘in line with our interests’ after incumbent António Guterres leaves at the end of 2026, UN ambassador nominee Mike Waltz said on Monday.

“My understanding is the race and the campaigning for that will start this fall, and I will certainly commit to work with you and others to make sure that we have someone in line with our interests,” Waltz told the Foreign Relations Committee at his nomination hearing.

Waltz criticized UNRWA, the UN relief organization that has provided humanitarian support for Palestinian refugees. Israel has accused 12 of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 employees in Gaza of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. President Joe Biden suspended U.S. funding for UNRWA in 2024, this year President Donald Trump signed an executive order also suspending funding.

Waltz stepped down as National Security Advisor in May following criticism after he added a journalist to a Signal chat group used to discuss U.S. military attack plans on Yemen. Trump later nominated him to become ambassador to the United Nations.

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