The US Department of Defense has confirmed it has fired the head of the National Security Agency in a move that sparked anger over the allegations of security authorities.
On Friday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a brief statement, recognising four-star air force general Timothy Howe’s departure as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), one of the government’s top intelligence gathering groups.
Haugh also led the US Cyber Command, which prepares and defends attacks in the digital space.
“The Department of Defense thanked General Timothy Howe for decades of service to our country as US cyber commander and director of the National Security Agency. We really wish him and his family,” Parnell said.
However, multiple media reports suggest that the ouster of Howe has come to be with the proposal of Laura Rumer, a far-right internet activist who supported President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in 2024.
Democrats also seized the fact that Trump did not fire anyone involved in a recent controversy over the use of messaging app signals to discuss sensitive plans to bomb Yemen’s Houthi targets.
“General Hof led the NSA and Cyber Command with steady and effective leadership,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly wrote on social media Friday.
“By dismissing him and not taking any responsibility for the threat to US pilots via signal, Trump has shown that he values loyalty over capabilities.
Another democratic senator, Virginia Mark Warner, repeated the sentiment, calling the situation “too crazy it goes against belief.”
“Trump has shamed America and refused to fire people who risked the lives of military personnel in the Signal Gate scandal,” Warner wrote.
Howe was only on the slate of the shooting that Trump came after meeting Rumer this week at the White House.
According to media reports, Wendy Noble, the private vice-chairman of NSA Haugh, has also been sued and reassigned from her position.
Additionally, several members of the National Security Council appear to have been eliminated from their positions, including Intelligence Director Brian Walsh and Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, Thomas Budley.
Reuters estimated that more than 12 security officials had been rejected as part of the alleged purge.
When he flew to South Florida for a golf tournament on Thursday, Trump spoke rumors, admitting that “some” people were fired but refused to give details about the total.
“We’re always going to let go of people. We’re going to let go of people we don’t like, people we don’t think we can do our job, or people who may be loyal to someone else,” Trump said from Air Force 1.
He also attended a meeting with Rumer earlier this week, where he appreciated the nature of the internet.
“Laura Rumer is a very good patriot,” he said. “She’s a very strong person and I saw her for a while yesterday. She’s going to recommend it.”
Pushing on what that means, he admitted that the Rumer not only encouraged the individual to hire, but also allowed him to fire. However, he rejected the report that Rumer was involved in purging security personnel.
Rumer himself worked on removing Hof on Thursday, accusing the four-star general of inadequate loyalty to the Trump administration. She also attempted to portray Howe as the acolite of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who defeated Trump in the 2020 election.
“NSA director Tim Howe and his deputy Wendy Noble were dishonest to President Trump, which is why they were fired,” she wrote.
“Their fire is a blessing for Americans. I would like to thank President Trump for accepting the review materials provided to you, and for firing these Biden holdovers.”
Rumer has long been a controversial figure in American rights. She once called herself a “proud Islamophobia” and spread the exposed conspiracy theories that the September 11, 2001 attack was “internal work.”
Her proximity to the president sparked a ripple of concern within the Trump administration and was seized as a point of criticism against the Democrats.
Jim Himez, a ranking Democrat for the House Intelligence Election Committee, called for an “immediate explanation” for Hau’s firing, claiming it would “have all of us less safe.”
“I know that General Hau was an honest and outspoken leader and put national security first in line with the law,” writes Himes. “I’m worried that those could lead to his shootings in this very administration.”
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