On Thursday, Democratic lawmakers reported that the director of the US National Security Agency (NSA) was dismissed as President Donald Trump continued to overhaul America’s security establishment. The removal of NSA Director Timothy Haugh, who also leads US Cyber Command, was condemned by Mark Warner, vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Warner highlighted Haugh’s over 30 years of honorable service in uniform. The Washington Post initially reported Haugh’s termination, noting that his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, had been reassigned to a different position within the Pentagon. Neither the Pentagon nor the White House provided comments in response.
The NSA is primarily responsible for gathering signals intelligence, while the National Security Council (NSC) advises the President on national security concerns. These NSC dismissals followed a meeting between President Trump and Laura Loomer, a right-wing social media figure and conspiracy theorist, who urged Trump to dismiss certain staff members. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Vice-President JD Vance, and other officials attended the Oval Office meeting, as first reported by the New York Times.
At least three NSC officials, including Brian Walsh and Thomas Boodry, were removed according to an individual familiar with the situation. David Feith, the senior director for technology and noted China hawk, was also dismissed. Another source mentioned mounting pressure on Waltz from Trump supporters, who viewed him as having hawkish foreign policy perspectives. It was suggested that the series of dismissals indicated Waltz might also be in a precarious position due to his inability to protect his staff.
NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes declined to comment specifically on the firings, merely stating that the NSC does not discuss personnel matters. When questioned about the dismissals, President Trump stated aboard Air Force One that the administration would continue to release individuals who are either disliked or deemed disloyal. He denied that the dismissals were directly influenced by Loomer’s suggestions, acknowledging that while he listens to recommendations, decisions are made independently.
Loomer has also criticized Alex Wong, the deputy national security adviser, and Ivan Kanapathy, the senior NSC director for Asia — both of whom are noted China experts. Loomer’s criticisms on social media targeted Wong due to his Chinese-American background, calling him the “Chinese national security adviser,” and scrutinized Kanapathy due to his previous employment with a consultancy that included senior Democrats who faced criticism from the Trump administration.
Prior to the meeting, Waltz had been under scrutiny for inadvertently including a journalist, Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, in a Signal app chat group meant to discuss military actions against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Subsequently, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General launched an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal, prompted by senators Roger Wicker and Jack Reed. The Pentagon stated that it does not comment on ongoing investigations.
Warner expressed astonishment over Trump’s decision to dismiss Haugh, an experienced, non-partisan NSA leader, while no action had been taken against anyone else on Trump’s team for leaking classified information through a commercial messaging app.