Donald Trump told reporters “people that may have loyalties to somebody else” are always at risk of being dismissed from White House roles – but he became frustrated at one journalist’s question
Donald Trump has sacked “some” White House National Security Council officials.
The move comes one day after far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to the US President about staff loyalty. She urged Mr Trump to axe employees she deemed insufficiently loyal to his “Make America Great Again” agenda, according to sources.
And, though now some employees have gone, Mr Trump has downplayed Ms Loomer’s influence. He told reporters: “Always we’re letting go of people. People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”
The President did not name which members of his team have been fired. However, the National Security Council came under fire last month amid the Signal scandal, which exposed US security. Although Mr Trump, 78, was said to have been furious at the leaked messages about the country’s war plan, he jumped to the defence of Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser, who took “full responsibility” for the blunder.
Ms Loomer appeared to take credit for the firings today. In a post on X, which was known as Twitter, she wrote: “You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?” She then noted that “the fired officials” were being defended by Mr Trump critics on CNN and MSNBC.
The Pentagon’s acting inspector general has announced he will review Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to convey plans on the Houthi operations. The review will also look at other defence officials’ use of the publicly available encrypted app.
But Mr Trump grew frustrated when asked about the review. He scoffed at a reporter: “You’re bringing that up again. Don’t bring that up again. Your editor’s probably… that’s such a wasted story.”
It is believed Mr Waltz is not one of those who have lost their job. Pressure grows on the 51-year-old, a former businessman, following the Signal scandal. However, Mr Waltz has travelled to Florida with the President for a dinner event ahead of the LIV Golf tournament in Miami. Mr Trump has already been pictured on a golf course in Florida – just hours after plunging stock markets into chaos with his tariffs. His raft of tariffs, including 10% on the United Kingdom, has sparked fears of a recession.
Ms Loomer, who has promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories, was a frequent presence on the campaign trail during Mr Trump’s 2024 successful White House run. More recently, she has been speaking out on social media about members of Mr Trump’s national security team that she insists can’t be trusted.
