Overview

• Sen. Rand Paul placed a hold on Waltz’s nomination after challenging his 2020 vote to restrict troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and probing his involvement in the Signalgate breach.
• A slim 12–10 Republican majority on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made any GOP defection fatal, prompting leaders to cancel Waltz’s planned confirmation vote indefinitely.
• Republican senators are scrambling to persuade Paul or win a Democrat’s backing to break the deadlock and advance the nomination before the August recess.
• Party strategists have identified former acting intelligence director Richard Grenell as a likely replacement if Waltz’s confirmation bid collapses.
• The impasse underscores deepening ideological rifts within the GOP, recalling the earlier stall of Elise Stefanik’s own UN ambassador nomination.