A report came out last week from the AP that explained how the incoming senior Trump officials were questioning NSC staffers about their voting record and political contributions to ensure the staff is loyal to President Trump.
They reported that some staffers had begun leaving after being questioned, indicating that were potential leakers who would compromise President Trump’s agenda.
Here’s more from the AP:
Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by President-elect Donald Trump’s team, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
At least some of these nonpolitical employees have begun packing up their belongings since being asked about their loyalty to Trump — after they had earlier been given indications that they would be asked to stay on at the NSC in the new administration, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.
Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, in recent days publicly signaled his intention to get rid of all nonpolitical appointees and career intelligence officials serving on the NSC by Inauguration Day to ensure the council is staffed with those who support Trump’s agenda.
A wholesale removal of foreign policy and national security experts from the NSC on Day 1 of the new administration could deprive Trump’s team of considerable expertise and institutional knowledge at a time when the U.S. is grappling with difficult policy challenges in Ukraine, the Mideast and beyond. Such questioning could also make new policy experts brought in to the NSC less likely to speak up about policy differences and concerns.
Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer saw this today and chimed in, echoing his support for such a move by Trump officials.
He said: “After NSC staffers leaked Trump’s calls with foreign leaders, I don’t blame him for doing this. No president should have a disloyal staff. They’re getting what they deserve.”
Absolutely right. These people are paid to do their jobs and if they are a threat to this administration in any way, they need to be removed. This is clearly a very different Trump administration from his first term.