President Donald Trump has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency (NSA).
On Thursday, General Timothy Haugh, the head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, and his deputy, Wendy Noble, were both removed from their positions. Trump has replaced them with William Hartmann, the deputy at U.S. Cyber Command, and Sheila Thomas, the NSA’s executive director.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer praised the move. She wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Haugh and Noble were not loyal to Trump and should not have been in those roles. Loomer said Haugh was chosen by General Mark Milley, who had previously criticized Trump. She questioned why someone connected to Milley would lead the NSA.
Loomer also criticized Noble, calling her a supporter of former President Obama and a follower of James Clapper, who had spoken against Trump in the past. She claimed Noble focused on promoting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) at the agency instead of national security.
According to the New York Times, Loomer visited the White House a day before the firings and encouraged Trump to make changes in the National Security Council. CNN reported that the firings were a direct result of that meeting.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has removed several top officials from government agencies and replaced them with people loyal to him.