War in Afghanistan

After telling an anecdote to the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference audience about his time serving in Afghanistan during the public announcement of the Obama-era troop withdrawals, Waltz said of the War in Afghanistan, "So, are we 15 years in? Yes. Are we in for a lot more fighting and do we need a long-term strategy to undermine the ideology of Islamic extremism—just like we did fascism and just like we did communism? Yes, we do. Uh, and you know, I think we're in for a long haul and I think our nation's leadership needs to begin telling the American people, 'I'm sorry, we don't have a choice, we're 15 years in to what is going to be a multi-generational war because we're talking about defeating an idea.' It's easy to bomb a tank, very difficult to defeat an idea and that's exactly what we have to do." After his statement, a CPAC audience member disrupted the panel, shouting "It's impossible".^[12]

China

Waltz is considered one of Congress's most hawkish members with regard to China, saying, "We are in a Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party."^[13] In 2021, he was the first member of Congress to call for a full U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over the CCP’s genocide and internment of Chinese Uyghur populations and the enslavement, forced labor, and concentration camp of ethnic minorities in China.^[14]

Waltz serves on the House China Task Force^[15] with 15 Republican lawmakers representing 14 committees of jurisdiction to coordinate policy on China. The Task Force collaborated and released the China Task Force report. The CTF issued a final report that includes 82 key findings and more than 400 forward-leaning recommendations to addressing the China threat.^[16]

In the 116th Congress, Waltz sponsored the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020^[17] to reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of critical minerals and bring the U.S. supply chain from China back to America by establishing a critical mineral research and development program in the Department of Energy. The bill was signed into law in Section 7002 of Division Z in the FY21 appropriations bill.^[18]

Waltz has also pioneered legislation to secure American universities and academies from Chinese espionage.^[19] In 2020, he secured legislation that provides a universal requirement, for all agencies, for researchers to disclose all foreign funding sources in applications for federal funding. Failure would result in permanent termination of research and developments awards to the professor or school, permanent debarment of malign professors, and criminal charges.^[20]

Further, Waltz directed the Department of Defense to track foreign talent recruitment programs that pose a threat to the United States, particularly as a response to China Communist Party efforts to infiltrate American universities.^[20]

Waltz also sponsored legislation^[21] to ensure the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) does not invest in Chinese or Russian markets. Weeks later, President Trump directed the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board^[22] to reverse their decision to expand TSP investments.

In December 2022, Waltz warned that the U.S. could lose its strategic advantage over China in the Indian Ocean.

Elections

Tenure

Waltz was sworn in to the 116th United States Congress on January 3, 2019.

In April 2020, Waltz joined the National Guard's COVID-19 response efforts as a colonel on the planning staff.^[29] On November 6, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he tested positive for the virus.^[30]

In December 2020, Waltz was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated^[31] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.^[32][33][34] Shortly thereafter, the Orlando Sentinel editorial board rescinded its endorsement of Waltz in the 2020 election.^[35] It wrote, "We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy."^[35][36]

Along with all other Senate and House Republicans, Waltz voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.^[37]

On May 19, 2021, Waltz voted against legislation to establish the formation of a January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.^[38]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[46]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Readiness (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Central Intelligence Agency
  • Subcommittee on National Security Agency and Cyber

Caucus memberships

Waltz is a member of the following Congressional caucuses.^[47][48]

• Congressional Afghan Caucus
• American Flood Coalition
• Army Caucus^[49]
• Florida Ports Caucus^[50]
• For Country Caucus (vice chair and co-founder)^[51][52][53]
• Kurdish American Caucus^[54]
• Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus^[55]
• Republican Study Committee^[56]
• House Special Operations Forces (SOF) Caucus (co-chair)^[57]
• Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus^[58]
• Congressional Singapore Caucus^[59]
• Congressional Taiwan Caucus^[60]
• Republican Main Street Partnership^[61]
• Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Caucus^[62]