President Trump is directing significant changes to the National Security Council which will reduce its scale, result in the dismissal of certain political appointees, and send numerous career civil servants back to their original departments, as stated by two U.S. officials and an individual knowledgeable about the restructuring.

According to officials who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of discussing personal matters, the workforce at the NSC is anticipated to see considerable cuts.

This shake-up is merely the most recent development at the NSC, which is undergoing significant changes following the removal earlier this month of former President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn, who adhered to conventional GOP stances on certain international affairs matters.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been acting as the national security advisor following Waltz’s departure, who was appointed to be Trump’s representative at the United Nations.

This shift is anticipated to boost the role of the State Department and Pentagon in providing counsel to Trump regarding significant international policy decisions.

The NSC, created during the Truman administration to counter the emerging Soviet threat after the end of World War II, is an arm of the White House tasked with advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policy and coordinating among various government agencies.

Trump was frustrated in his first term by political appointees and other advisors who he thought got in the way of his agenda.

There were roughly 395 people working at the NSC, including about 180 support staff, according to one official. About 90 to 95 of those being ousted are policy or subject-matter experts seconded from other government agencies. They will be given an opportunity to return to their home agencies if they want.

The official mentioned that many of these politically appointed individuals will also receive roles in other parts of the administration.

The NSC has been in a state of tumult during the early going of Trump’s second term in the White House.

Weeks following President Trump’s dismissal of multiple National Security Council (NSC) officials, Waltz was also removed from his position. This happened just one day after controversial right-wing figure Laura Loomer voiced her worries regarding staff loyalty directly to Trump. In previous instances, Loomer had propagated 9/11 conspiracy theories and endorsed QAnon, a complex and doomsday-oriented conspiracy movement. She claimed responsibility for the removal of these NSC officials whom she deemed untrustworthy.

In the early days of the new administration, the White House sent roughly 160 National Security Council assistants home, placing them in an unpaid status as they reassessed staff positions and aligned roles with President Trump’s objectives. These individuals were public servants temporarily detailed to the NSC from various agencies within the federal government.

This recent restructuring essentially leads to a “reduction” in NSC personnel. According to someone knowledgeable about the choice, employees detailed from various government departments to serve at the NSC are returning to their original agencies, alongside multiple politically appointed officials leaving their roles.

A White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the overhaul, first reported by Axios, was underway. Andy Baker, the national security advisor to Vice President JD Vance, and Robert Gabriel, an assistant to the president for policy, will serve as deputy national security advisors, according to the White House official.

During his brief time as head of the NSC, Waltz faced intense criticism in March when it emerged that he had included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in a confidential group chat on an encrypted messaging platform. This channel was utilized to deliberate the arrangements for a delicate military mission targeting Houthi insurgents in Yemen.

Waltz has taken responsibility for building the text chain but has said he does not know how Goldberg ended up being included.

Loomer urged Trump to remove staffers whom she thinks lack adequate loyalty to the president’s “America first” platform.

She likewise voiced her concerns to understanding administrators about how Waltz depended excessively on “neocons” — which refers to the more militant neoconservative members of the GOP — along with individuals who didn’t seem MAGA-centric enough, according to the source.

Not only did Loomer view Waltz skeptically, but he also faced a degree of doubt from certain Trump supporters who considered him overly connected to Washington’s foreign policy elite due to his background as an ex-Army Green Beret and three-term congressman.

Regarding Russia, Waltz echoed Trump’s worries about the substantial cost of significant American military support to Ukraine. However, he pushed for increased diplomatic isolation of Russian President Vladimir Putin—a stance that diverged from Trump’s perspective, as Trump has consistently shown leniency and respect towards the Russian president.

Waltz’s more hawkish rhetoric on Iran and China, including U.S. policy toward Taiwan, seemed increasingly out of step with Trump, who has favored military restraint and diplomacy toward some traditional adversaries — though not toward certain allies, such as his belligerent rhetoric about taking over Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal.


Lee and Madhani reported from Washington for the Associated Press, with Kim contributing from Fishkill, N.Y.

This tale initially surfaced in

Los Angeles Times

.