Topline
The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also served as the head of the U.S. Cyber Command, was reportedly fired on Thursday, adding to a list of national security officials whose removal was purportedly pushed for by far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.
Key Facts
Citing unnamed officials, the Washington Post reported that Gen. Timothy Haugh was fired alongside NSA Deputy Director Wendy Noble, after Loomer called for their firing in a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday.
In a post on X, Loomer wrote that Haugh and Noble “have been disloyal to President Trump,” and “that is why they have been fired.”
The far-right activist claimed that Haugh had “no place serving in the Trump admin” as he was “HAND PICKED” by former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.
Loomer’s post also attacked Nobel, calling her a “protege of Trump hater James Clapper” and claiming she “spent her time at the NSA promoting DEI.”
According to the Post, Lt. Gen. William Hartman, the deputy director of the U.S. Cyber Command, will serve as acting NSA director.
Reports of Haugh and Noble’s removal come just hours after six National Security Council officials were also purportedly fired by Trump after a push from Loomer.
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How Have Democrats Reacted To The Nsa Firing?
The reported firings triggered an angry reaction from senior Democrats in Congress. Rep Jim Himes, D-Conn., the senior-most Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wrote on Threads: “I am deeply disturbed by the decision to remove General Haugh as Director of the National Security Agency. I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first – I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration.” Himes said the Intelligence Committee needs an immediate explanation for the firings, “which makes all of us less safe.” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also lambasted the move and Loomer on BlueSky, saying: “It is astonishing that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan leader of the NSA while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on Signal – even as he apparently takes staffing direction from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office.” Warner warned the U.S. was facing “unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored,” and asked how does Haugh’s firing “make Americans any safer?”
Further Reading
Trump Fires NSC Officials After Meeting With Far-Right Conspiracy Theorist Laura Loomer (Forbes)