As soon as the words spread that President Trump fired General Timothy D. Howe, head of the National Security Agency and US cyber commander, current and former administration officials began to make floating theories as to why he was let go.
Was General Haugh probably moving slowly against the Purge executives who were working on diversity issues despite opposing one of Trump's initiatives? Or was he a victim of the administration's changing priorities to combat drugs?
Whether or not one of them was true had little to do with the reason why he was fired.
General Hauf was banished after the far-right wing conspiracy theorist and Trump adviser Laura Rumer accused him of accusing him and his dishonesty, according to a social media post by US officials and Lonely. He was one of the national security authorities who was fired last week for her advice.
“I expect you'll see some nonsense statements about some policy differences and what Howe wasn't doing, but we all know what happened,” said Maine Independent Sen. Angus King, who is on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committee. “Laura Rumer said that. She told Trump to fire him.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and former majority leader, lamented that the Trump White House had ousted General Hauf and appointed people to the Pentagon Post, skeptical of America's involvement with the allies and the world.
“Decades of experience in uniforms aren't enough to lead the NSA, but if amateur isolationists can do senior policy work with the Pentagon, what are the criteria for working on the national security staff in this administration?” McConnell said. “I can't understand that.”
Rumer appears to use standards that appear to have ties to critics of the Trump administration, as he appears to drive away people he thinks are dishonest.
In her social media post, Rumer said General Hof was chosen by General Mark Millie, the former chairman of the co-headed whom she called a traitor.
Rumer said that General Hou's aide in the National Security Agency, Wendy Noble, is close to James Clapper, a former director of national intelligence and a fierce critic of Trump.
As chairman of the co-chief, General Mee has revised the appointment of hundreds of officers into key positions. Clapper, the longest serving national intelligence director in the Obama administration and senior defence intelligence director under George W. Bush, has been associated with officials across the spy agency.
Connecticut leader Jim Himez, a top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he has worked closely with General Hau and has never seen anything suggestive of dishonesty or lack of competence.
“I'm afraid this will be an hourly installment of the side of this administration's Laura Rumer Crown Car,” Himes said.
He said it was important to have a detail-oriented leader at the top of the NSA and that he was concerned that the expulsion of General Haugh could lead to policy changes.
Himes also said he was concerned that the Trump administration would attempt to split the work of NSA directors and cyber command directors.
Since the creation of the US Cyber ​​Command, the director of the National Security Agency has led the organization. A part within the Trump administration, and his first term veteran, wants to separate the two jobs. This allows military officers to lead cyber commands, but gives the president or secretary of defense a license to name the civilians who lead the agency.
The two agencies work closely together but have different roles. The National Security Agency collects communication interceptions and penetrates communications and computer networks overseas. Cyber ​​Command is operating offensive and defensively on overseas computer networks. This command helps allies defend their networks and hunt for malware and infringement by Russia and other enemies.
They also carry out offensive operations against enemy networks to disrupt their ability to attack the United States.
The succession of NSA directors argues that one military member should lead both agencies to improve coordination. However, some Trump administration officials believe it is important to have a civilian in charge of one of the most important spying agencies.
Some Trump administration officials have been critical of the NSA's widespread power to intercept phone calls overseas as some Americans are caught up in those efforts.
Himes said he opposed splitting the work. There is a debate that if done carefully, they will separate them, but Himes said he doubted the Trump administration would proceed that way. He said the administration had already imposed irrational cuts on the NSA, which had sacrificed the skilled people of the institution.
“Given this administration's breakdown, I'm worried about the Fix It style of operation,” Himes said. “It's not the poorly performed skill set that's been fired. Often it's some of our most valuable people. This makes us more directly.”
Beyond the structure of the order, some Trump administration officials hope that the NSA will move faster with the White House initiative.
However, Himes said there was no evidence that the NSA is slow in prioritizing administration management, and that General Haugh is working to strengthen the collection of drug cartels.
“I can say with confidence that the NSA is raising the priorities,” Himes said. “In fact, in a way, they were shifting in a way that they were a bit concerned about the shortening of pivot and counter-terrorism collections into Asia.”
King said it would be extremely dangerous to remove the general when Chinese intelligence agency has penetrated the telecommunications network and Russian-backed ransomware attacks continue in hospitals.
“Our country is currently under attack in cyberspace. The President has just removed our top generals from the field on recommendations from people who don't even know about national security or the work this general is doing,” King said.
