The White House National Security Council (NSC) experienced a tremendous overhaul on Friday when dozens of employees were dismissed, a huge step by President Donald Trump to cut down and minimize the agency's power, per a report by Reuters that quotes several sources.
The report indicated that "staff handling most significant geopolitical issues, from Ukraine to Kashmir, were fired in the afternoon," per sources talking to Reuters.
This mass layoff comes after the recent appointment of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who took over from Mike Waltz as national security adviser. Reuters reported that the NSC shake-up is designed to "further diminish the agency's role, turning it from a influential policymaking institution into a small shop dedicated more to executing the president's agenda than to shaping it."
In real-world terms, this reorganization will be expected to transfer more power to the State Department, Defense Department, and other agencies dealing with diplomacy, national security, and intelligence, the report stated. The Trump administration is said to cut the NSC staff down to a few dozen, with some estimates putting the eventual number at around 50.
The NSC has historically served as the principal coordinating entity for US national security policy, deciding on the vital issues of worldwide conflicts and ensuring national security. With President Joe Biden, the council had more than 300 employees, but the NSC under Trump was considerably smaller than that of Biden even before the recent reduction.
Reuters was informed by sources that the terminated staff will be reassigned to other jobs in the government.
Conservative critics have long advocated for a smaller NSC on the grounds that numerous functions of the NSC overlap with other agencies in the government. Some Republicans and Democrats have warned, however, that cutting the NSC by half would weaken the administration's access to expert advice.
Earlier this year, the morale of the NSC took a hit after right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer gave Trump a list of national security staff that she branded as disloyal, resulting in some top staff being fired. Moreover, tensions increased after a situation where former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently shared details of a proposed bombing campaign in Yemen with a journalist from The Atlantic.
In the course of the continuing restructuring, a number of NSC divisions, which are referred to as directorates, will be consolidated or done away with, according to sources. In the remaining directorates, staff numbers have been drastically cut down.
