President-elect Donald Trump is bulking up an incoming national security team that may have been created in the mold of a hardline, looking to position itself for a more assertive and confrontational foreign policy posture in the next Trump administration. Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida congressman, is likely to be named incoming National Security Advisor; and Senator Marco Rubio, the former Florida Senator who also ran as president in 2016, a possible candidate for Secretary of State.
Mike Waltz: A China Hawk and Proponent of a US-India Alliance
Mike Waltz is a decorated combat veteran-turned-lawmaker who is a strong China hawk and an advocate of a formal alliance between the US and India. For his part, Waltz co-chairs the India caucus in Capitol Hill, views India as the main partner in countering China’s influence, and finding stability in the Indo-Pacific.
In an op-ed coauthored with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in 2021, Waltz called for deepening relationships that can strengthen US standing in the world and suggested “the place to start is India. It’s time to form an alliance.” That perspective will influence the approach of the newly selected National Security Adviser Waltz as he explores deepening a strategic partnership with India.
Marco Rubio: A Hardliner for the Secretary of State Position
The President-elect has also named a senator from Florida by the name of Marco Rubio as the Secretary of State. Rubio is known to his people for his hardline moves on foreign policy issues and will definitely shape the new administration’s global policy in many ways.
Kristi Noem: The Nominee for Homeland Security Secretary
In addition to his choices of Waltz and Rubio, the President-elect has also nominated South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to replace the current Secretary of Homeland Security. Such a decision is believed to be another milestone in making policy-making and policy implementation almost entirely reliant on elected loyalists instead of so-called “deep state” that has remained in charge of Washington’s foreign policy forever.
Influence on US-India Relations
It is interesting that Waltz, an advocate of a formal alliance between the US and India, has been chosen as National Security Advisor suggesting that the new administration might look at improving India-US ties at all costs that may reach a little too far beyond bilateral relations with a reciprocal impact on all three parties. That would translate into a revived effort by the US to balance China’s new aggressive moves in the region by improving the strategic flexibility offered by India in the Indo-Pacific region.
But India’s historical aversion to formal alliances, although having changed now, is something which can create a challenge in this regard, since India has always preferred maintaining its strategic autonomy historically. The approach of the new administration toward such delicate balance will be watched both by India and the rest of the international community with great interest.
