NATIONAL NEWS – National Security Agency chief abruptly fired by Trump administration

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

The head of the National Security Agency (NSA), Gen. Timothy Haugh, and his deputy have both been fired. This is the latest dismissal of a top military officer by the Trump administration. The dismissal came just hours after numerous staffers at the National Security Council at the White House were ousted on Thursday. Haugh served for just over a year as the director of the NSA, the spy agency that collects cyber intelligence around the world. 

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Senate and House intelligence committees, issued late-night statements criticizing the firing of General Haugh. Haugh’s deputy, Wendy Noble, who’s a civilian, was also removed from her post. Warner released a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying, “ It is astonishing that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the NSA , while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app.” He was referencing the recent disclosure of U.S. attack plans on Yemen in the Signal app. The NSA declined to comment, and it was not clear why the two senior intelligence officials were fired.