President Donald Trump has fired the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), a high-level move driven by mounting pressure from conservative allies to purge officials they view as insufficiently loyal to the president’s ‘America First’ agenda.
Gen. Timothy Haugh and civilian Deputy Wendy Noble were let go from their roles as director and deputy director of the NSA. Lt. Gen. William Hartman, who also leads U.S. Cyber Command, will serve as acting director, while Sheila Thomas will take over as deputy.
Hartman previously commanded the Cyber National Mission Force and has served in intelligence, cyberspace operations and infantry roles during deployments around the world. Thomas most recently headed NSA’s cryptologic partnership with the U.K. and served as director of engagement and policy at NSA.
The shake-up comes as some right-wing figures have turned against members of Trump’s national security team. Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer met with Trump this week to share her ‘research’ on officials she believes should be fired.
As Loomer pointed out on X, both Haugh and Noble were Biden appointees. She seemingly took credit for the firing, claiming Haugh had ‘no place’ in the Trump administration because he was ‘hand-picked’ by former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley.
‘Why would we want an NSA Director who was referred to Biden after being hand selected by Milley,’ Ms. Loomer wrote. ‘Why would we want Milley’s hand picked choice for NSA DIRECTOR? We do not! And he was referred for firing.’
The White House and NSA did not respond when asked if Loomer had influenced the president’s decision.
Trump also fired several National Security Council (NSC) staffers on Thursday, adding to national security advisor Mike Waltz’s recent woes after he accidentally included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal chat about Houthi strikes.
‘We’re going to let go of people we don’t like, or people we don’t think can do the job, or people who may have loyalties to somebody else,’ Trump told reporters about the firings. He confirmed that NSC members had been fired, but remarked it was not many individuals.
The NSA shuffle also came after Trump recently let go of C.Q. Brown, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former chief of naval operations.
The White House has insisted Waltz’s job is not under threat.
‘As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,’ Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media in brief remarks outside the White House’s press room on Monday afternoon. ‘And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.’