The Trump administration has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ powerful cyber intelligence bureau, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation, members of the Senate and House intelligence committees and two former officials familiar with the matter, CNN reported.
The dismissal of Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also leads US Cyber Command — the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit — is a major shakeup of the US intelligence community which is navigating significant changes in the first two months of the Trump administration. Wendy Noble, Haugh’s deputy at NSA, was also removed, according to the former officials and lawmakers.
The top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committee, Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, denounced the firing of Haugh, who served in the roles since February 2024, in statements on Thursday night.
Lt. Gen. William Hartman, an experienced military officer and the deputy of Cyber Command, is expected to serve as acting head of the command and NSA, the two former officials said.
The news of the dismissals comes as the White House also fired multiple staff members on the National Security Council on Thursday, after Laura Loomer, urged President Donald Trump during a Wednesday meeting to do so, arguing that they were disloyal.
Loomer, who brought a list with roughly a dozen names of people she deemed insufficient in their support of Trump, also advocated for the firing of Haugh and Noble, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.
During the meeting, Loomer told the president that Haugh specifically should be fired because he was handpicked by the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. Haugh was nominated in 2023, while Milley was serving, to head up the NSA and Cyber Command.
In a social media post overnight Loomer said, “NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired. As a Biden appointee, General Haugh had no place serving in the Trump admin given the fact that he was HAND PICKED by General Milley.” She went on, “Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”
Loomer told CNN on Thursday that 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.”
Cyber Command and the NSA declined to comment and referred CNN to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which could not be immediately reached for comment. CNN has requested comment from the White House National Security Council.
Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, called the move “insane” and said he hasn’t received an explanation for the decision in a strong reaction on “CNN News Central” Friday morning.
“You’re talking about a moment where you would not want to destabilize the national security agency, and this is exactly what the president has done, without any explanation to any of us, except to listen to Laura Loomer. And you know this is just more again, just pure chaos instead of common sense,” Gottheimer told CNN’s Kate Bolduan.
