By Alexander Ward, Meridith McGraw and Josh Dawsey
WASHINGTON -- Multiple National Security Council staffers were fired this week, people familiar with the matter said, as right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer alleged to President Trump that some members of his administration weren't aligned with his priorities.
Four NSC aides were fired overnight, the people said. Two other NSC aides were let go on Sunday, others familiar with the matter said. The staffers worked on a series of portfolios, including intelligence, India, congressional affairs and the impact of technology security, the people said.
The exact reasons for the staffers' ouster weren't immediately clear.
During a Wednesday meeting in the Oval Office, Loomer told the president that she had concerns about some of his staff, the people said.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes declined to comment. In a statement, Loomer declined to discuss her meeting with the president. "It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my findings, I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of strong vetting, for the sake of protecting the President and our national security," she said.
The firings are the first since members of Trump's cabinet discussed sensitive information about a military operation in Yemen on a nongovernment messaging app, and mistakenly added a journalist. Democrats called for national security adviser Mike Waltz to resign over the incident, as he initiated the chat. Some senior Trump administration officials have also privately raised the prospect that Waltz should step down. Waltz, however, still has his job.
Two U.S. officials said there had long been an internal campaign to oust NSC officials deemed not sufficiently loyal to Trump's agenda. Waltz has tried to protect his staff, the officials said, but no longer has strong standing with the president or senior White House officials.
Waltz's precarious position in the administration presented an opening for Loomer, who met with Trump shortly before his tariff announcement and named specific aides she alleged weren't sufficiently aligned with the president's worldview, the people said. She has previously made similar allegations on social media. The New York Times earlier reported on Loomer's meeting with Trump.
Loomer is a polarizing figure in Trump's orbit. Trump talked to her regularly during the recent presidential campaign, but some of Trump's aides worried that she provided him erroneous information.
Multiple White House officials said Trump remains upset with Waltz, who could still be removed in the coming weeks. He has held multiple sensitive conversations on Signal, people familiar with the conversations said. The people said they were unaware of classified materials discussed in those conversations.
Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com, Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com and Josh Dawsey at Joshua.Dawsey@WSJ.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 03, 2025 12:33 ET (16:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.