President Trump fired at least three senior national security council officials after an extraordinary meeting in Oval Office with far-right activist Laura Loomer, who laid out a list of people she believed were disloyal to Trump, according to a US official with direct knowledge of the matter.
Other members of NSC are expected to be fired as part of the purge, the official added. Some of those officials had been detailed to the council and were sent back to their home agencies over the weekend, even before the meeting held Wednesday. Loomer has been part of a group effort by Trump allies to disparage members of his White House staff. The campaign has included online attacks about the members' families, past employment and aspects of their backgrounds, including professional associations, that have been used to claim they were either disloyal or ideologically unfit to serve in his administration.
The agitators have used the phrase "neocon" - short for neoconservative - to describe many of those working for NSA Michael Waltz. The insinuation is that the officials are too hawkish, too eager to commit American troops around the world and fundamentally at odds with Trump's "America First" foreign policy.
Loomer, who has spread conspiracy theories about the Sept 11 attacks, presented her findings directly to Trump. The meeting was attended by Waltz and V-P JD Vance. For now, one of her top targets, the deputy NSA Alex Wong, has been spared, the official said. It is unclear what the firings mean for Waltz, who has a tenuous hold on his own job. Trump has so far declined to terminate Waltz after he inadvertently invited the Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg onto a Signal group chat in which top officials shared sensitive details about forthcoming strikes against Houthi terrorists.
Other members of NSC are expected to be fired as part of the purge, the official added. Some of those officials had been detailed to the council and were sent back to their home agencies over the weekend, even before the meeting held Wednesday. Loomer has been part of a group effort by Trump allies to disparage members of his White House staff. The campaign has included online attacks about the members' families, past employment and aspects of their backgrounds, including professional associations, that have been used to claim they were either disloyal or ideologically unfit to serve in his administration.
The agitators have used the phrase "neocon" - short for neoconservative - to describe many of those working for NSA Michael Waltz. The insinuation is that the officials are too hawkish, too eager to commit American troops around the world and fundamentally at odds with Trump's "America First" foreign policy.
Loomer, who has spread conspiracy theories about the Sept 11 attacks, presented her findings directly to Trump. The meeting was attended by Waltz and V-P JD Vance. For now, one of her top targets, the deputy NSA Alex Wong, has been spared, the official said. It is unclear what the firings mean for Waltz, who has a tenuous hold on his own job. Trump has so far declined to terminate Waltz after he inadvertently invited the Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg onto a Signal group chat in which top officials shared sensitive details about forthcoming strikes against Houthi terrorists.
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