Following the president's meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer, the White House dismisses three NSC employees.
At least three National Security Council employees have been let go by the White House, three people with knowledge of the decision told CNN.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who once said that 9/11 was an inside job, urged President Donald Trump to fire several members of his National Security Council staff, including his principal deputy national security adviser, during a meeting on Wednesday, saying that they were disloyal. This prompted the firings. According to one of the sources, the meeting with Loomer was the direct cause of the firings.
Although Alex Wong, the principal deputy national security adviser, was not one of the people fired on Wednesday, a White House official told CNN on Thursday that Wong might be fired as early as today, but a final decision has not yet been made.
Loomer explicitly singled out Wong as one of the advisers, calling him a “Never Trumper” in private and publicly questioning his allegiance to Trump.
According to one of the sources, because Wong has been involved in the controversy surrounding the leak of contentious Signal messages pertaining to military strikes on Yemen that Waltz and his team have come under fire for starting, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz may have been hesitant to fire him.
Three officials were fired: David Feith, a senior director of technology and national security who worked in the State Department during Trump's first administration; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs who was Waltz's legislative director in Congress; and Brian Walsh, a director of intelligence and a former top staffer for now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
When Loomer arrived Wednesday for an appearance with Trump, Waltz was already in the Oval Office for other meetings. Waltz remained in the Oval Office while the president spoke with Loomer.
Loomer said CNN on Thursday, "I am going to decline on disclosing any facts regarding my Oval Office encounter with President Trump out of respect for President Trump and the privacy of the Oval Office." "I will continue to work hard to support President Trump's plan and to reiterate the significance of strong vetting, for the purpose of protecting the President and our national security. It was a pleasure to meet with President Trump and present him with my findings."
The New York Times was the first to reveal that the president and his economic team met with Loomer in the Oval Office while they were in the Rose Garden getting ready to make the tariff announcement.
According to one aide, the meeting was attended by Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, who was one of the advisors who attempted to limit Loomer's access to Trump throughout the campaign.
The assistant claimed that the presence of Wiles and Sergio Gor, the chief of presidential staff, demonstrated that the Loomer meeting was authorized, even though it was unclear when it was scheduled.
One of the advisors who has been receiving concerns from the MAGA community regarding Waltz is Gor, who is regarded as one of the president's most devoted aides.
