US President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered a major overhaul in the National Security Council, which will lead to the ouster of a few political apointees and several support staff will return to their home departments. The downsizing comes following the ouster of national security adviser Mike Waltz in the backdrop of the Signal scandal.
Sources in the know of developments told AP that the number of staff at the National Security Council will be significantly reduced. The Council was created during the tenure of former US president Harry S. Truman, to advise and assist the president on national security and foreign policy matters. The Council also coordinates among various government agencies.
The downsizing is the recent among major steps taken to overhaul the key body following the ouster of national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security adviser since Waltz's ouster, who has been nominated to serve as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations. The recent move is expected to elevate the importance of the State Department and Pentagon in advising Trump on important foreign policy moves, AP reported.
According to reports, there were roughly 395 people working at the Council, including about 180 support staff. Close to 100 staff among those being ousted are policy or subject-matter experts seconded from other government agencies. The officials will be reportedly given an opportunity to return to their home agencies if they desire. Many of the political appointees will also be given positions elsewhere in the administration, an official told AP.
The White House, days into the new Trump administration, sidelined about 160 NSC aides, sending them home while the administration reviewed staffing and tried to align it with Trump's agenda. This latest shake-up amounts to further liquidation of NSC staffing.
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A White House official confirmed to Axios about the overhaul and said Andy Baker, the national security adviser to Vice President J.D. Vance, and Robert Gabriel, an assistant to the president for policy, will serve as deputy national security advisers, the publication reported.
President Trump removed Waltz from the key role after he faced severe criticism following revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, that was used to discuss planning for a sensitive military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen.
