The director of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Timothy Haugh, has been dismissed, multiple U.S. media outlets reported.
According to American media citing U.S. officials, Haugh’s deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, has also been dismissed.
The National Security Agency is a powerful surveillance and cyber-espionage service, reports Agence France-Presse.
The U.S. Department of Defense, under which the agency operates, has yet to respond to AFP’s inquiry regarding the reported dismissal.
General Haugh, who also led cyber defense operations at the Pentagon (Cyber Command), assumed the role of NSA director just over a year ago.
Leading Democratic members of the U.S. Congress have protested the alleged dismissal of General Haugh from the NSA directorship, with one stating that the decision makes everyone in the U.S. less safe.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that General Haugh had served the United States honorably for more than 30 years in uniform and questioned how his dismissal, at a time when the U.S. is facing unprecedented cyber threats, could make Americans safer.
A senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, Democratic Representative Jim Himes, said he was “deeply disturbed by the decision” and that both the Intelligence Committee and the American people demand an immediate explanation for a decision that, he added, makes everyone less safe.
FIND OUT MORE IN ENGLISH:
Earlier yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had fired “some” officials from the National Security Council, a move that followed after activist Laura Loomer directly expressed concerns to him about the loyalty of some White House personnel.
According to The New York Times, the influential Laura Loomer requested Haugh’s dismissal from Trump during a meeting with him at the White House on Wednesday. She asked the president to remove staff she considered insufficiently loyal to his agenda to “Make America Great Again.”
“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his Deputy Director Wendy Noble showed disloyalty to President Trump, therefore they were dismissed,” she wrote on the platform X.
Since returning to power in January, the Republican president has launched a sweeping military reorganization, which included, among other changes, the dismissal of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Brown.
MORE TOPICS:
Source: N1, Foto: Reuters / Leah Millis