By Dustin Volz and Nancy A. Youssef

WASHINGTON -- Gen. Tim Haugh, the chief of the National Security Agency, was fired Thursday at the direction of the White House, according to people familiar with the matter.

Haugh, who also helmed U.S. Cyber Command, the military's combatant command for offensive use of cyberattacks, was informed by the White House that his services were no longer required, the people said, adding that his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, also was removed, though she was reassigned to a job within the Pentagon.

Haugh held one of the most important national-security positions in government, responsible for overseeing tens of thousands of military and civilian employees who work to collect intelligence on foreign adversaries while safeguarding cybersecurity for sensitive computer networks. The NSA contributes a majority of the intelligence that appears in the president's daily brief, officials have said.

The reasons for the dismissals couldn't immediately be determined. They came in the midst of the firings by President Trump of several National Security Council officials following a meeting that right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer had with the president in which she alleged that some members of his administration weren't aligned with his priorities.

Early Friday, Loomer cheered the removals of the two officials whom she called "Biden holdovers," appearing to take credit for the abrupt moves in a post on X.

Haugh and Noble, Loomer said, had been "disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired." She thanked Trump for being "receptive to the vetting materials provided to you."

The Senate confirmed Haugh to lead the NSA and Cyber Command by unanimous consent, and he had enjoyed bipartisan support on Capitol Hill during his tenure.

The latest moves could be part of a larger plan to split the leadership of the NSA and Cyber Command, former officials said, an idea that was considered during Trump's first term. Such a split, which has long attracted bipartisan interest on Capitol Hill but also pushback from many national-security officials, would allow Trump to install a political appointee at the top of the NSA instead of a uniformed military officer.

Haugh had been serving as the chief of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command for a little more than a year, succeeding Gen. Paul Nakasone.

Defense officials said Friday that Haugh, a four-star general with more than 30 years of military experience, had also been removed as the Cyber Command chief, and would likely be retiring within the next 60 days from the Air Force.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed Haugh's firing.

"General Haugh has served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years," Warner said. "At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored, how does firing him make Americans any safer?" Warner said, referring to the widespread compromise of U.S. telecommunications networks by Beijing-backed hackers.

A Pentagon spokesman said Friday about the dismissals: "We've seen the reports but have nothing to offer at this time. We will provide more information when it becomes available." As of Friday morning, Haugh's portrait was still hanging at the Pentagon.

The White House and NSA declined to comment and referred questions to the Pentagon. Cyber Command didn't respond to a request for comment. The Cipher Brief, a news outlet focused on national security, earlier reported the firings.

Haugh's dismissal came just weeks after Elon Musk visited NSA's headquarters at Fort Meade in Maryland. It was the billionaire's first known visit to a U.S. intelligence agency in his capacity leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the administration's effort to shrink the federal government. That meeting, officials said at the time, centered on staff reductions and operations, with some describing it as a "positive" encounter.

Sen. Angus King (I., Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats and sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in an interview that Haugh's firing could lead to Trump installing a political figure atop the NSA who could favor pleasing the president over keeping the country safe.

"If you go back into the history of this country, quite often the major disasters have been because of cooked intelligence, where intelligence was skewed in order to meet the policy desires of the president," King said.

"Having someone who's loyal to the president, as opposed to loyal to the Constitution and the country, is dangerous," he added. "And it's even dangerous for the president, because if you don't have the straight facts, if you don't have the unvarnished truth, you're going to make mistakes, and in this case, the mistakes can cost American lives."

Write to Dustin Volz at dustin.volz@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 04, 2025 12:09 ET (16:09 GMT)

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