President Donald Trump has fired several members of his National Security Council team, according to reports. The firings came after National Security Advisor Michael Waltz mistakenly included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in a Signal group chat where top administration officials were discussing a planned strike on the Houthis in Yemen.
Trump has stood by Waltz, a former congressman from Florida, in the wake of the Signal chat mishap, despite some White House insiders reportedly calling him a "f***ing idiot." Meanwhile, The New York Times reported Thursday morning that far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer visited the Oval Office on Wednesday and pushed for the firings of National Security Council members.
Loomer Makes Trump Doi It All
Loomer arrived at the White House with research that allegedly indicated certain NSC staff members were not loyal enough to the president. "Out of respect for President Trump and the privacy of the Oval Office, I'm going to decline on divulging any details about my Oval Office meeting with President Trump," Loomer told the Daily Mail on Thursday.
"It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research 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 added.
According to The Times, Waltz attended the meeting and stood up for his team members.
"NSC doesnt comment on personnel matters," was the official line from NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes.
However, CNN reported on Thursday that those fired included Brian Walsh, Thomas Boodry, and David Feith.
The network claimed the firings were a direct outcome of Trump's meeting with Loomer, despite the fact that Trump's key congressional ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, had previously tried to distance Loomer from the MAGA movement.
However, Loomer has remained influential in Trump's circle.
The Fired Trio
The fired staffers included Walsh, an intelligence director who formerly worked for now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Boodry, Waltz's former congressional legislative director who later became a senior director for legislative affairs; and Feith, who oversaw technology and national security and had served in the State Department during Trump's first term.
Loomer had also been vocal about wanting to oust Alex Wong, Waltz's deputy, who was the only NSC staffer named in the leaked Houthi Signal chat.
Her main criticism of Wong has centered on his Chinese heritage. Wong is an American citizen whose parents emigrated from China.
Loomer also suggested that Wong's loyalty was questionable, citing the fact that his wife had been employed at the Department of Justice during both the Obama and Biden administrations and that her father held shares in a Chinese satellite manufacturing company.
"I don't know why we have Chinese individuals in positions of national security," Loomer said of Wong in an online video posted last week.
The discourse around Wong became so intense that Republican Senator Tom Cotton felt compelled to step in and defend both him and his wife. "Alex Wong and his wife Candice are complete and total patriots, 100% MAGA Warriors who always put America First," Cotton said in an X post on March 27.
"For three years, Alex worked hard for me until President Trump smartly hired him away,' Cotton said. 'President Trump made another great decision to hire Alex as his Deputy National Security Adviser. America is safer and better off with Alex in the White House. THANK YOU for your service, Alex!!!"
It appears that Wong was not among the National Security Council staffers who were fired.
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, known for her history of making controversial remarks and promoting conspiracy theories, has been the most vocal MAGA figure attempting to distance Loomer from the movement.
In September, ahead of the 2024 election, Greene publicly condemned a post by Loomer, calling it "extremely racist."
Loomer had claimed that if Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris won, "the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center." Harris, whose heritage is half-Jamaican and half-Indian, was the target of Loomer's remarks.
Greene criticized Loomer's " rhetoric and hateful tone," claiming that she "does not represent MAGA as a whole."
