A wider purge
This all seems very reasonable and carefully thought through.
The Trump administration has fired the head of both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, the BBC’s US partner CBS has reported. The removal of General Timothy Haugh comes amid what appears to be a wider purge of top security officials at the agency and at the White House.
Democrats have said they are “deeply disturbed” by the move and say it jeopardises national security.
It is not clear why Gen Haugh was removed, but it comes after a meeting between President Donald Trump and far-right activist Laura Loomer on Wednesday.
Between Trump and who the hell is Laura Loomer?
She’s an…internet personality. Ah. That’s definitely who should be making these decisions. She ran for Congress in 2020 but lost. She’s an “activist” and a conspiracy theorist. That’s it, that’s her credential for supervising the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command.
Ms Loomer reportedly urged Trump to fire specific employees who
mshe suspected lacked support for his agenda. She posted on X that Gen Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble, who US media reported was also sacked, “have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired.”Before their firings were reported, Trump told reporters he would get rid of any staff deemed to be disloyal. “We’re always going to let go of people – people we don’t like or people that take advantage of, or people that may have loyalties to someone else,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump made the comments as reports emerged of the firings of at least three other officials at the White House National Security Council (NSC), following the reported meeting with Ms Loomer. The president did not confirm names.
Did the president confirm why he had a “meeting” with some random flake and then fired a bunch of key people on her say-so?
Aboard Air Force One en route to Miami, Florida, on Thursday, Trump praised Ms Loomer and confirmed he had met with her, calling her a “great patriot” and a “very strong person”.
“She makes recommendations… sometimes I listen to those recommendations,” he said. “I listen to everybody and then I make a decision.”
Make no mistake, peasants! He makes a decision! No one else! He’s the boss! But he does take very good excellent professional informed advice from random people he found on the internetz.
[Loomer] texted a statement that said: “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 of the United States of America and our national security.”
Oh good. Whew. She has research findings. That’s ok then! I thought it was just her personal brain work, but no, she found research findings. That’s a huge relief.
What about loyalty to the Constitution?
Shouldn’t the security of the country come before the security of the President? How long before the oaths of these appointees will be ones of personal loyalty to Trump first? That’s the not-so-tacit bar they’re already required to clear. Why not make it official? What happens when all of the top level security jobs are taken by talentless hacks who don’t know what they’re doing? How will this make America “great” at all? Putin must be laughing his ass off.
Re “What about loyalty to the Constitution?”: I saw video of some Trump flunky talking about a judge rejecting some order or other by Trump. The flunky insisted that the judge works for the Department of Justice, headed by the Attorney General, “whose name is Pam Bondi”, and therefore the judge has to do what the AG wants. It’s all personal loyalty to these people, all the way down.
Ah but Ophelia, you left out the most important item on Loomer’s CV: she uses her prominence to brown-nose Trump.