Trump Makes Rubio National Security Adviser Role Permanent

President Donald Trump has signed a commission formally appointing Secretary of State Marco Rubio as national security adviser, ending more than a year of interim status and creating a rare dual assignment at the top of U.S. foreign policy. Administration officials confirmed the move on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, though the White House has not specified when the commission was signed. Rubio has held the national security post on an acting basis since May 1, 2025, when Trump removed Michael Waltz from the role. Waltz's departure followed an incident in which a journalist was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat where senior officials discussed military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen. Waltz was later nominated as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. With the permanent appointment, Rubio becomes only the second person in U.S. history to simultaneously serve as secretary of state and national security adviser. The first was Henry Kissinger, who held both positions under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1973 to 1975. Other officials, including Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, have held the two posts at different times.