The Trump administration has fired NSA and Cyber Command chief Timothy Haugh, a move reportedly driven by pressure from right-wing activist Laura Loomer. The news was shared late Thursday, with multiple sources confirming Haugh’s ousting just over a year after his appointment.
Haugh, a career military official with over 30 years of service, was tapped to lead the NSA and oversee Cyber Command in February 2024 after his predecessor retired. While the NSA handles the nation’s most sophisticated intelligence gathering, Cyber Command is responsible for offensive hacking operations against foreign threats.
According to The Washington Post and The New York Times, Loomer lobbied Trump to fire Haugh and several other national security officials during a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday.
The shake-up didn’t stop with Haugh. NSA Deputy Director Wendy Noble, the agency’s top civilian leader, was also shown the door. Who’s currently running the NSA and Cyber Command remains unclear.
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly referred questions to the Department of Defense, which oversees the NSA. NSA spokesperson Eddie Bennett also declined to comment, deferring inquiries to the Pentagon.
A Defense Department spokesperson, who asked not to be named, said, “We have seen the reports but have nothing to offer at this time. We will provide more information when it becomes available.”
The move blindsided lawmakers. Senator Mark Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s vice-chair, called the firing “astonishing.”
“General Haugh has served our country with honor and distinction for over 30 years,” Warner said. “With unprecedented cyber threats facing the U.S.—as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China highlighted—how does firing him make Americans safer?” he added, referencing a series of extensive hacks attributed to China targeting U.S. telecom and internet companies last year.
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Warner also slammed the administration for firing Haugh while “still failing to hold any member of his team accountable” for leaking classified information about Yemen air strikes via a Signal group chat that mistakenly included a journalist.
Jim Himes, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, was equally blunt. “I’m deeply disturbed by this decision,” Himes said.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, met with Haugh at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, in March. The meeting was reportedly intended to align the agency’s priorities with Trump’s administration.
Musk has called for an “overhaul” of the NSA but hasn’t detailed what changes he envisions. With Haugh and Noble gone, the NSA and Cyber Command are left leaderless at a time when threats from hostile nations are escalating.
