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Donald Trump fires 3 national security officials over ‘loyalty’ concerns: Report
The move came after Donald Trump meet far-right activist Laura Loome in the White House.
US President Donald Trump has fired at least three senior National Security Council officials after a meeting with far-right activist Laura Loome, who deemed them disloyal to him, The New York Times has reported.
According to the Associated Press, Loome saw the officials insufficiently committed to fulfilling Trump's “Make America Great Again” agenda.
The news agency, which cited people familiar with the matter, Loomer presented her research to Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, making her case for the firings.
Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Serio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, were also present in the meeting, the people said on condition of anonymity.
Loomer, who has promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories, was a frequent presence on the campaign trail during Trump’s 2024 successful White House run.
More recently, she’s been speaking out on social media about some members of Trump’s national security team that she insists can’t be trusted.
“It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings,” Loomer said in a posting on X. “I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security.”
Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes declined to comment on the meeting or the firings, according to AP.
The move by Trump to push out staff comes at a moment when his national security adviser Mike Waltz has been criticised for using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.
The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in an article, claimed that he was inadvertently invited into a group chat where top US officials planned for strikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels.
While Trump informed the public about the strikes on March 15, Goldberg claimed that he knew about them hours earlier as he was part of the chat, which included US defense secretary Pete Hegseth and vice president JD Vance.
