Several high-ranking White House National Security Council officials have been fired, according to three people familiar with the matter, in what appears to be the first significant purge of Donald Trump‘s second presidency.
It was not clear exactly why the White House National Security officials were let go or if their firing is permanent. But three of the sources said several were told there were issues with their background vetting.
One of the sources said there were also concerns about leaks to the media, while two other sources suggested the ouster was aimed broadly at officials who held views that were seen as too interventionist for the liking of Trump’s allies.
Among the several NSC officials who were fired were David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security, Brian Walsh, a senior director overseeing intelligence matters, and Thomas Boodry, who oversees legislative affairs, the sources told Reuters.
The National Security Council declined to comment.
The news of the firings comes a day after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who privately called on the president to fire some NSC staffers. The New York Times was the first to report their meeting, while Axios first reported on the NSC purge on Thursday.
Any connection between Loomer’s private suggestions and the firings was not immediately clear, and two sources said some dismissals came before Loomer met with Trump.
But multiple sources said Loomer, who has a history of peddling Islamophobic conspiracy theories, did provide Trump with a list of national security staff perceived by her to be disloyal to Trump. Loomer appeared to largely confirm that on social media on Thursday.
“It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings,” Loomer wrote on X.
The National Security Council has been dogged by negative headlines since March, when National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added a journalist to a Signal chat in which top Trump officials discussed an imminent bombing campaign in Yemen.
Trump had repeatedly expressed to associates in private that he was angry with Waltz, and the advisor appeared close to losing his job, according to two sources familiar with the dynamic.
But one of the sources said in recent days that Waltz himself appeared to be safe for now.
The precise foreign policy impacts of the national security purge, if any, were unclear, and the portfolios of the fired staffers appeared to have relatively little overlap.
(With inputs from Reuters)
