President Trump fired at least three National Security Council officials after an extraordinary meeting in the elliptical office with far-right activist Laura Rumer, who laid out a list of people who believed were dishonest to the president, according to US officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
The three officials were among those vilified by Rumer at Wednesday's meeting at the White House, officials said. Other members of the NSC are expected to be fired as part of the purge, officials added. Some of these officials were detailed to the NSC and even before the meeting were sent back to their hometown over the weekend.
Mr. Rumer is part of the Trump Allied group's efforts to lightly parry members of the president's White House staff. Their campaign includes aspects of their background, including online attacks on staff families, past employment, and associations of experts.
The Agitator uses the phrase “neocon” to shorten Neoconservatives and describes many of the staff working for national security adviser Michael Waltz. The hint is that officials are too takis, keen to commit American troops around the world, and are fundamentally at odds with Trump's “America-First” foreign policy.
Loomer, who spreads conspiracy theories about the September 11 attack and is considered extreme even by some of Trump's far-right allies, presented her findings directly to the president at an oval office meeting Wednesday afternoon. The meeting was also attended by Mr Waltz, Vice President JD Vance and other senior officials, including Chief of Staff, Director of Personnel Affairs, Sergio Gor, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Mr. Rumer brought in a bundle of papers, as he claimed evidence to highlight the attacks on NSC staff members.
For now, one of her top targets, Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong, is spared, US officials said.
It is unclear what the firing means to Mr. Waltz, who holds his own work in sparse manner. Trump has so far refused to terminate Waltz after accidentally inviting Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a signal group chat.
But a senior official who has personally discussed Waltz and the president said that Trump's reluctance to fire a national security adviser is an issue of avoiding any worse publicity than signs of trust in him. Trump made it clear to staff that he didn't want to give the media satisfaction after seeing Waltz fired. He also doesn't want to start a cycle of firing high-ranking officials who plagued his first term, they said.
For some governments, dismissals feel arbitrary. Most, if not all officials targeted by Rumer, were under the personnel review process run by the Trump administration.
