Mike Waltz, India caucus head and China hawk, picked as Donald Trump's National Security Advisor

US President-elect Donald Trump has picked Florida congressman Mike Waltz as his National Security Advisor (NSA), reported The Associated Press on Monday citing sources familiar with the development.

Mike Waltz, who is the head of India caucus, advocated for advancing US defence and security cooperation with India. He served at multiple US deployments in Afghanistan and the Middle East, where he earned several awards, including the Bronze Star. He also served as an Afghanistan policy adviser at the Pentagon under then Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

As the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Waltz was known for aggressive questioning of the president Biden's botched withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which left a large number of weapons in the hands of the Taliban.

Mike Waltz is a hardcore backer of Donald Trump and also supported his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. He has also echoed Trump's allegations of a “woke” military that is allegedly “soft” and remains “too focussed” on diversity and other inclusivity programmes.

Mike Waltz has been a critic China’s alleged economic practices, such as intellectual property theft, unfair trade practices, and exploitation of US supply chain vulnerabilities. He advocates for policies that reduce US dependence on Chinese manufacturing and secure American technology.

Waltz also advocated for a US boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest China's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority in restive Xinjiang and its alleged role in the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new NSA would have a range of national security concerns concerning US foreign policy, with Ukraine war and the crisis in West Asia remaining foremost issues. Growing alliance between Russia and North Korea in Ukraine war also remains among US top concerns.

The latest appointment comes amid concerns on the Capitol Hill on Trump picking members of the House, where final tally is still unclear. The upcoming president choosing any of the GOP members from the chamber would force a new election to fill the vacancy.