WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has fired several White House National Security Council officials after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his ‘’Make America Great Again’’ agenda, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Loomer made her case for the firings to Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, took part in the meeting, the people said.
The move by Trump to push out staff comes at a tumultuous moment for Waltz, as he fights calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen. Trump has said he stands by Waltz, who traveled to Florida with Trump on Thursday for a dinner event ahead of the LIV Golf tournament in Miami.
The Presidential Personnel Office has fired at least three senior NSC officials and multiple lower-ranking aides since Wednesday’s meeting with Loomer, according to the people familiar with the situation. NSC spokesman Brian Hughes declined to comment on the meeting or the firings, saying the White House does not discuss personnel matters.
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 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 Thursday 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.‘’
Trump has a long history of elevating and associating with people who trade in falsehoods and conspiracy theories, and he regularly amplifies posts on his social media site shared by those like Loomer, who promotes QAnon, an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory centered on the belief that Trump is fighting the ‘’deep state.‘’
Trump’s national security team has been through a difficult stretch as officials struggle to answer questions about why they were using the Signal app to discuss planning for an operation targeting Houthi militants instead of using far more secure communication means.