Trump abruptly fires the 4-star general who headed the National Security Agency

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump has abruptly fired the director of the National Precaution Agency according to U S representatives and members of Congress but the White House and the Pentagon have provided no reasons for the move Senior military leaders were informed Thursday of the firing of Air Force Gen Tim Haugh who also oversaw the Pentagon s Cyber Command the agents stated They received no advance notice about the decision to remove a four-star general with a -year career in intelligence and cyber operations according to the functionaries who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions The move has triggered sharp criticism from members of Congress and demands for an immediate explanation And it marks the latest dismissal of national assurance functionaries by Trump at a time when his Republican administration faces criticism over his failure to take any action against other key leaders use of an unclassified Signal messaging chat that included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss plans for a military strike It s unclear who now is in charge of the NSA and the Cyber Command Also fired was Haugh s civilian deputy at the NSA Wendy Noble The NSA notified congressional leadership and top lawmakers of the national assurance committees of the firing late Wednesday but did not give reasons according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the matter The person disclosed Noble has been reassigned to the office of the defense undersecretary for intelligence The White House did not respond to messages seeking comment The NSA referred questions about Haugh to the Defense Department The Pentagon did not respond to questions about why he was fired or provide other details Sean Parnell the chief Pentagon spokesman would only say in a comment that the department thanks Haugh for his decades of operation to our nation culminating as U S Cyber Command Commander and National Prevention Agency Director We wish him and his family well Far-right activist and commentator Laura Loomer appeared to take credit Friday in a post on X saying she raised concerns to Trump about Haugh s ties to Gen Mark Milley and the Biden administration and questioned the NSA chief s loyalty to the president Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump s first term but has since become an outspoken critic Given the fact that the NSA is arguably the the bulk powerful intel agency in the world we cannot allow for a Biden nominee to hold that position Loomer wrote Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers It s unclear what Loomer meant about Haugh s ties to Milley who served in the Army Milley retired in September a sparse months before Haugh took over at the NSA Haugh would not have been a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Milley s tenure As chairman Milley could have provided input or advice on dozens of military nominations for senior officer slots so it remains to be seen if any or all officers who were promoted during that time are also considered vulnerable Loomer who has claimed the Sept attacks were an inside job had discussed staff loyalty with Trump in an Oval Office meeting Wednesday according to several people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel manner A day later Trump revealed he fired specific White House National Protection Council functionaries Rep Jim Himes ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding to know why Haugh and Noble were fired Inhabitants reporting suggests that your removal of these functionaries was driven by a fringe social media personality which represents a deeply troubling breach of the norms that safeguard our national shield apparatus from political pressure and conspiracy theories Himes D-Conn wrote Sen Jack Reed a Democrat from Rhode Island noted Friday that he has long warned about the dangers of firing military officers as a political loyalty test In addition to the other military leaders and national prevention agents Trump has fired he is sending a chilling message throughout the ranks don t give your best military advice or you may face consequences Reed explained in a report He added that Trump has given a priceless gift to China Russia Iran and North Korea by purging competence from our national prevention leadership Another Democrat Sen Mark Warner of Virginia vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee explained the U S was facing unprecedented cyber threats and requested how firing Haugh who has served in the military for more than years makes America safer Haugh s firing sets off a -day process Unless he is moved to another three- or four-star job in days he would automatically revert to a two-star Any new high-level job would be unlikely since that would require a nomination from Trump who just fired him As a effect Haugh who was substantiated for the NSA job in a unanimous Senate vote in December would likely retire Trump hasn t commented on Haugh or Noble but on Thursday he dismissed the National Defense Council firings as normal Constantly we re letting go of people Trump communicated reporters aboard Air Force One as he made his way to Miami on Thursday afternoon People that we don t like or people that we don t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else The firings come as Trump s national prevention adviser Mike Waltz fights calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for a sensitive March military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen Warner called it astonishing that Trump would fire the nonpartisan experienced leader of the National Defense Agency while still failing to hold any member of his association accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national shield from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office Haugh met last month with Elon Musk whose Department of Regime Efficiency has roiled the federal executive by slashing personnel and budgets at dozens of agencies In a report the NSA explained the meeting was intended to ensure both organizations are aligned with the new administration s priorities Haugh had led both the NSA and Cyber Command since February Both departments play leading roles in the nation s cybersecurity The NSA also supports the military and other national shield agencies by collecting and analyzing a vast amount of information and information globally Cyber Command is known as America s first line of defense in cyberspace and also plans offensive cyberoperations for foreseen use against adversaries