Mike Waltz | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| 32ndUnited States Ambassador to the United Nations | |
| Assumed office September 21, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Dorothy Shea |
| Preceded by | Dorothy Shea (acting) |
| 29thUnited States National Security Advisor | |
| In office January 20, 2025 – May 1, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Alex Wong |
| Preceded by | Jake Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Marco Rubio (acting) |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 20, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Ron DeSantis |
| Succeeded by | Randy Fine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael George Glen Waltz (1974-01-31)January 31, 1974 (age 51) Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Virginia Military Institute (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | U.S. Army Special Forces |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
| Awards | Bronze Star (4) |
Michael George Glen Waltz (born January 31, 1974) is an American politician, diplomat, businessman, author, and formerArmy Special Forces officer who has served as the 32ndUnited States ambassador to the United Nations since September 2025 in thesecond Trump Administration.[1] A member of theRepublican Party, he previously served as the 29thnational security advisor from January to May 2025 and was theU.S. representative forFlorida's 6th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. He was the first Army Special Forces soldier to be elected toCongress. Waltz received fourBronze Stars while serving in theSpecial Forces during multiple combat tours inAfghanistan, theMiddle East, andAfrica. He served in theBush administration as a defense policy director inthe Pentagon and as counterterrorism advisor to Vice PresidentDick Cheney.
In2018, Waltz was elected to the House of Representatives, defeating former ambassadorNancy Soderberg and succeedingRon DeSantis, who was electedgovernor of Florida thatsame year. Waltz was re-elected in2020,2022, and2024 with over 60% of the vote in each election. He was chair of theHouse Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness for the118th United States Congress. Waltz was considered one of Congress's most hawkish members with regard to China, believing theChinese Communist Party (CCP) is ina cold war with the U.S. and the West.
In 2021, Waltz was the first member of Congress to call for a full U.S. boycott of the2022 Winter Olympics inBeijing over what he described as the CCP'sgenocide and internment of Chinese Uyghur populations and the enslavement, forced labor, andinternment camps ofethnic minorities in China. On November 12, 2024, President-elect Trump announced he would appoint Waltz to serve as national security advisor in hissecond administration. Waltz resigned his House seat prior to taking office on January 20, 2025.
On May 1, 2025, it was reported that Waltz, along withDeputy National Security AdvisorAlex Wong, would leave their posts followinggroup chat leaks on the messaging platformSignal.[2] Waltz served as NSA for 101 days, the second shortest tenure for a non-acting officeholder in the position (Mike Flynn, Trump's initial first term NSA, lasted 24 days). The same day, Trump announced via social media that he intended to nominate Waltz to serve asAmbassador to the United Nations (replacing the withdrawn nomination ofElise Stefanik) and thatMarco Rubio would take on an acting role as National Security Advisor.[3]
Waltz was born on January 31, 1974 to a single mother inBoynton Beach, Florida, and grew up in Jacksonville, where he graduated fromStanton College Preparatory School.[4][5] He earned aBachelor of Arts degree ininternational studies from theVirginia Military Institute in 1996, graduating with honors as aDistinguished Military Graduate.[6]
Waltz was commissioned as anarmor officer in theU.S. Army in 1996.[7][8] He later graduated fromRanger School and graduated from theSpecial Forces Qualification Course in 2000, then serving two years as an active dutySpecial Forces officer with multiple tours in the Middle East and Africa. For his actions in combat, Waltz was decorated with four Bronze Stars, including two for valor.[9]
From 2002 to 2011 and 2016 to 2023, Waltz served inCompany B, 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces,MD-ARNG. From 2012 to 2015, he served in5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces,TX-ARNG.[10][11]
Waltz worked in the Pentagon as a defense policy director for secretaries of defenseDonald Rumsfeld andRobert Gates. He went on to serve in the White House as the vice president's counterterrorism advisor.[10] Waltz wroteWarrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan.[12]
In 2010, Waltz helped found the analytics and training company Metis Solutions. It was bought in November 2020 byPacific Architects and Engineers for $92 million.[13]
Upon becoming the national security advisor under President Donald Trump, Waltz retired from theArmy National Guard at the rank of colonel.
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Waltz ran forFlorida's 6th congressional district in 2018 to succeed incumbent RepublicanRon DeSantis, who retired before being electedgovernor of Florida.[14] He defeated John Ward andFred Costello in the Republican primary[15] before facing Democratic nomineeNancy Soderberg, a former representative at the United Nations and the formerdeputy national security advisor, in the general election.[16] Waltz won with 56.31% of the vote to Soderberg's 43.69%.[17]
Waltz was challenged by Democratic nominee Clint Curtis. He received 265,393 votes (60.64%) to Curtis's 172,305 (39.36%).[18]
Waltz was sworn in to the116th United States Congress on January 3, 2019.
In April 2020, Waltz joined the National Guard'sCOVID-19 response efforts as a colonel on the planning staff.[19] On November 6, 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, he tested positive for thevirus.[20]
In December 2020, Waltz was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives to sign anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theUnited States Supreme Court contesting the results of the2020 presidential election, in whichJoe Biden defeated[21] incumbentDonald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[22][23][24] Shortly thereafter, theOrlando Sentinel editorial board rescinded its endorsement of Waltz in the 2020 election.[25] It wrote, "We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy."[25][26] Ultimately, Waltz voted toconfirm the electoral victory of Joe Biden.
Along with all other Senate and House Republicans, Waltz voted against theAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[27]
On May 19, 2021, Waltz voted against legislation to establish the formation of aJanuary 6 commission meant to investigate thestorming of the U.S. Capitol.[28]
On July 29, 2024, Waltz was announced as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan task force investigating theattempted assassination of Donald Trump.[29]
In October 2023, Waltz led a letter by 16 House Republicans to theHouse Committee on Agriculture opposing the inclusion of the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act in the 2023farm bill.[30] The EATS Act would havepreempted state and local laws regulating agricultural goods sold in interstate commerce, including the California farmanimal welfare lawProposition 12. The letter argued that the legislation would infringe onstates' rights and undermine U.S. national security by unfairly advantaging the Chinese-owned pork producerWH Group and promoting "Chinese infiltration of American agriculture."[31] In 2024, Waltz received a Congressional Leadership Award from the agricultural policy groups Organization for Competitive Markets and Competitive Markets Action for leading the letter.[32]
Waltz served on theHouse China Task Force[33] 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 for addressing the China threat.[34]
In the 116th Congress, Waltz sponsored the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020[35] 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 theDepartment of Energy. The bill was signed into law in Section 7002 of Division Z in the FY21 appropriations bill.[36]
Waltz has also pioneered legislation to secure American universities and academies fromChinese espionage, saying that although not all Chinese students in the United States are "spies or bad people", they "have no choice but to provide the Chinese government with whatever information that government demands".[37] 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 development awards to the professor or school, permanent debarment of malign professors, and criminal charges.[38] Further, Waltz directed theDepartment of Defense to track foreign talent recruitment programs that pose a threat to the United States, particularly as a response to Chinese Communist Party efforts to infiltrate American universities.[38]
Waltz also sponsored legislation[39] to ensure the federalThrift Savings Plan (TSP) does not invest in Chinese or Russian markets. Weeks later, President Trump directed theFederal Retirement Thrift Investment Board[40] to reverse their decision to expand TSP investments.
In 2020, Waltz voted for theNational Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021, which would prevent the president from withdrawing soldiers fromAfghanistan without congressional approval.[41]
Shortly after Waltz's 2021 op-ed,The Intercept reported on his role in founding and managing a defense contracting company called Metis Solutions, which had landed contracts worth an accumulated $930 million in Afghanistan from the US government, largely in the area of training Afghan security forces. As a result ofPAE acquiring Metis in 2020, Waltz had personally realized capital gains in the range of $5-25 million, according to disclosure releases.[42]
In 2024, he voted against multiple Ukraine bills to aid Ukraine.[43][44]
In January 2023, Waltz and RepresentativeDan Crenshaw introduced a bill to seek authorization to use US military force to "put us at war with the cartels" in Mexico.[45]
Waltz voted to include provisions for drafting women in the NDAA of 2022.[46]
Waltz voted for the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158),[47] which effectively prohibitsImmigration and Customs Enforcement from cooperating with theDepartment of Health and Human Services to detain or removeillegal alien sponsors ofUnaccompanied Alien Children.[citation needed]
On July 19, 2022, Waltz and 46 other Republican representatives voted for theRespect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.[48]
Waltz endorsedDonald Trump for the2024 Republican Party presidential primaries.[49]
Waltz was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[50]
For the118th Congress:[51]
Waltz was a member of the followingCongressional caucuses:[52][53]
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On November 12, 2024, President-electDonald Trump announced that he would appoint Waltz to serve as hisnational security advisor.[69]
On January 20, 2025, Waltz tendered his resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to take up his appointment with the Trump administration.[70] He would assume office the same day.[71] Shortly after becoming National Security Advisor, Waltz would reverse his previous stance supporting a ban on TikTok in the United States.[72]
On January 28, 2025, Waltz held a meeting attended bySecretary of StateMarco Rubio andSecretary of DefensePete Hegseth to "discuss implementing President Trump's vision of securing the nation and prioritizing American interests on both domestic and international fronts."[73][74]
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On February 18, 2025, American and Russian delegations, headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian foreign ministerSergey Lavrov, respectively, met inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, in order to develop a framework for furtherpeace negotiations on the war in Ukraine. Rubio was accompanied by Michael Waltz and Special EnvoySteve Witkoff.[75]
On March 3, 2025, Waltz confirmed onCNN'sState of the Union that the United States would continue offensive cyber operations against Russia.[76]
On March 24, 2025, Waltz announced a visit to Greenland, which was criticized by Greenlandic leaders as an aggressive move amid ongoing tensions over U.S. interests in the territory.[77] The Greenland government has accused the United States of foreign interference in its affairs.[78]
On 26 March 2025 it was revealed byThe Atlantic editor-in-chiefJeffrey Goldberg that Waltz had inadvertently added him to aSignal group chat discussing the upcomingUS strikes in Yemen targetingHouthi militia before they were publicly known.[79] Signal is a commercial non-government messaging application.[79] In the Signal chat, Waltz appears to initially add a setting that causes the chat messages to be deleted after one week, but later Waltz changes the setting to let the message deletions occur after four weeks.[79] After the strikes occurred, Waltz provided a real-time update to the Signal chat, announcing that the strikes' "first target", which was the Houthi's "top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed".[79][80]
AfterThe Atlantic reported about the Signal chat, the incident sparked national security concerns as Pentagon regulations specifically prohibit the use of Signal and similar messaging apps for sharingclassified information.[81][82] Due to the automatic message deletion setting, there were also concerns on whether the conversations were kept on official record as mandated by thePresidential Records Act.[79] Waltz responded to the reporting by saying that Goldberg "really is the bottom scum of journalists … I don't text him. He wasn't on my phone", but Goldberg "somehow gets on somebody's contact and then get sucked into this group"; Waltz also said of Goldberg: "I didn't see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else", raising the possibility that Goldberg "did it deliberately".[83] Waltz told the media that "I take full responsibility. I built the group", then said: "We made a mistake. We're moving forward".[84]
After the Signal leak,Der Spiegel searched the Internet using a commercial information provider, a commercial people search engine, and leaked databases, which revealed Waltz's personal mobile number, personal email address and its passwords, and Waltz's personal profiles forMicrosoft Teams,LinkedIn,WhatsApp and Signal.[85]
On 30 March 2025,The Wall Street Journal reported that according to American officials, Waltz had started and hosted multiple other Signal group chats containing Cabinet members to discuss sensitive issues related to national security, including on military operations and on ceasing hostilities between Ukraine and Russia.[86] In April,The Washington Post reported that officials had stated that Waltz received government communications on his personalGmail account, including his schedule and work documents, and that Waltz would then transfer data from his schedule to Signal.[87] BothThe Wall Street Journal andThe Washington Post quoted their sources as indicating that Trump did not want to fire Waltz because it would make a left-leaning media outlet (The Atlantic) look good, and that Waltz would have been fired if it was a right-leaning media outlet that exposed him.[86][87]
Politico followed with a 2 April 2025 report that reported that Waltz's national security team had created at least 20 Signal group chats discussing official (and sometimes sensitive) national security issues, on topics such as Ukraine, China, Gaza, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.[88]Politico wrote that its sources were four people who had been added to such Signal chats, one of whom said: "Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal", while another said that Waltz and his national security team had continued to use Signal ever since the transition period before Trump's second presidency began.[88]
On May 1, 2025, it was reported that Mike Waltz and his deputy,Alex Nelson Wong, would leave their respective posts. Waltz was announced as the nominee for United States Ambassador to the United Nations on the same day.[89]
On May 3, 2025, it was reported that Waltz andIsraeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu had held discussions in March 2025 about a potential strike on Iran. These discussions happened without Trump's knowledge, before a state visit by Netanyahu. Trump was reportedly angered that Waltz was attempting to push U.S. policy in a direction Trump was not comfortable with, and the meetings possibly contributed to Waltz's firing.[90][91]
On May 1, 2025, President Trump nominated Waltz to serve as the nextUnited States Ambassador to theUnited Nations.[92] During his confirmation hearing by theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, SenatorRand Paul attempted to delay the vote, butDemocratic senatorJeanne Shaheen voted alongsideSenate Republicans to advance Waltz to a full floor vote.[93][94] In the committee hearing, Waltz promised to "Make the UN Great Again."[95][96]
On July 24, 2025, the committee approved of Waltz's nomination by a 12–10 vote for a full Senate confirmation vote.[97] On September 19, 2025, he was confirmed for the office in a 47–43 vote by theU.S. Senate and was sworn in the following day.[98] Waltz took office after presenting his credentials to Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres on September 21, 2025.[99] On September 29, 2025, Waltz was also confirmed by the Senate as theUnited States representative to theUnited Nations General Assembly.[100]
In October 2025, Waltz condemned theVenezuelan dictatorship underNicolás Maduro, calling him an "illegitimate leader, convicted in theSouthern District of New York".[101]
Waltz has been described as aneoconservative in theBush–Cheney tradition.[102][103][104]
In a 2017 interview withThe National Interest, Waltz described his views on Afghanistan as primarily oriented around ideological objectives, rather than material objectives. He assessed that Afghanistan could be won through slow cultural conversion by unconventional forces, described as "multiple generations of winning hearts and minds", and anticipated 100 years before such objectives could be achieved, saying:
We are in a war of ideas and we are fighting an ideology. It is easy to bomb a tank, but incredibly difficult to bomb an idea. We need a long-term strategy that discredits the ideology of Islamic extremism ... We are in a multi-decade war and we are only 15-years in.[105]
After telling an anecdote to the 2017Conservative Political Action Conference audience about his time serving in Afghanistan during the public announcement of theObama-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 into 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."[106]
In August 2021, during the final stages of thesecond US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Waltz called on President Biden to reverse course on the war in Afghanistan, urging for the redeployment of special forces on the ground and the use of aerial bombardment of Taliban positions by the Air Force. In an op-ed for Fox News, he predicted that a return to Afghanistan was inevitable, and viewed withdrawal as a temporary act that would "decimate" local allies and civilians, saying "thousands will die".[107]
Waltz voted against theHonoring our PACT Act of 2022 which expandedVA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service.[108]
In 2024, Waltz published a video onX expressing support for Canadian opposition leaderPierre Poilievre, who he said was going to send Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau "packing in 2025 (finally) and start digging Canada out of the progressive mess it's in". He has frequently criticized Trudeau for not being sufficiently tough on China, criticizing Trudeau for abstaining on aParliament vote on declaring thepersecution of Uyghurs in China as a genocide, allowing the sale of a lithium mine to a Chinese-state owned entity and the pledging of Chinese donors to donate $1 million to thePierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and warned aboutChinese government interference in Canadian elections.[109] When asked by Kristen Welker if Donald Trump is serious about annexing Canada, Waltz deflected: "I think the Canadian people would—many of them would—love to join the United States with no tariffs, with lower taxes."[110]
Waltz is considered one of Congress's most hawkish members with regard to China, saying, "We are in a Cold War with theChinese Communist Party."[111] In 2021, he was the first member of Congress to call for a full U.S. boycott of the2022 Winter Olympics inBeijing over what he described as the CCP'sgenocide and internment of Chinese Uyghur populations and the enslavement, forced labor, andinternment camps ofethnic minorities in China,[112][113] likening the 2022 Olympics to the1936 Summer Olympics held inNazi Germany.[114] In 2024, he called China an "existential threat to the US with the most rapid military build-up since the 1930s", and supported significant investments in the US Navy.[115] In a 2024The Economist op-ed written together withMatthew Kroenig, Waltz argued for winding down conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine to free up military assets needed to confront China.[116]
While initially backingUkraine following the launch of theRussian invasion in February 2022, he indicated that his views have evolved to a less supportive position in 2024.[43] In 2024, he suggested that Trump could threaten to damage the Russian economy by lowering the price of oil and gas, using it as a leverage.[115] In an op-ed toThe Economist, Waltz said giving military aid to Ukraine indefinitely is a "recipe for failure", but that the US can "provide more weapons to Ukraine with fewer restrictions" if Russian presidentVladimir Putin refuses to engage in peace talks.[116] He repeatedly criticized the Biden administration's strategy in Ukraine as unclear and confusing, and expressed support for a negotiated settlement of the conflict.[117]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Waltz | 32,833 | 42.4 | |
| Republican | John Ward | 23,543 | 30.4 | |
| Republican | Fred Costello | 21,023 | 27.2 | |
| Total votes | 77,399 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Waltz | 187,891 | 56.3 | |
| Democratic | Nancy Soderberg | 145,758 | 43.7 | |
| Total votes | 333,649 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Waltz (incumbent) | 265,393 | 60.6 | |
| Democratic | Clint Curtis | 172,305 | 39.4 | |
| n/a | Write-ins | 158 | <0.1 | |
| Total votes | 437,856 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Waltz (incumbent) | 226,548 | 75.3 | |
| Libertarian | Joe Hannoush | 74,207 | 24.7 | |
| Total votes | 300,755 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Waltz (incumbent) | 65,234 | 82.0 | |
| Republican | John Grow | 14,280 | 19.0 | |
| Total votes | 79,514 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Waltz (incumbent) | 284,414 | 66.5 | |
| Democratic | James Stockton | 143,050 | 33.5 | |
| Total votes | 427,464 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
Waltz is married toJulia Nesheiwat,[124] an Army veteran who served in the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, most recently as Trump'shomeland security advisor. Waltz and Nesheiwat have a son together.[125] Waltz also has a daughter from a prior marriage.[126]
In 2014, his bookWarrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan was published.[127] In 2022, he wrote the bookDawn of the Brave, a colorful, animal-filled Christian children's book about service.[128] In 2024, his bookHard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret was published.[1]
Waltz's awards and decorations include:[11]
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| Combat Infantryman Badge | ||
| Basic Parachutist Badge | ||
| Legion of Merit | Bronze Star Medal withCombat "V" device and three bronzeoak leaf clusters | Meritorious Service Medal |
| Army Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters | Army Achievement Medal | Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal |
| National Defense Service Medal | Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal | Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two bronzeservice stars |
| Global War on Terrorism Service Medal | Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" device for mobilization and "3" Numeral Device indicating three mobilizations | Army Service Medal |
| Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze service star | Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon with numeral 2 | NATO Medal |
| Pathfinder Badge | ||
| Special Forces Tab | ||
| Ranger Tab | ||
Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla. * First Term Maryland Army National Guard 2002–2011, 2016–present (lieutenant colonel) Texas Army National Guard 2012–2015
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 6th congressional district 2019–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States National Security Advisor 2025 | Succeeded by Marco Rubio Acting |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Dorothy Shea Acting | United States Ambassador to the United Nations 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations | Succeeded by |
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Italics indicates acting | |||
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