The shake-up at the highest levels of the Department of Defense continues. President Donald Trump has dismissed Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command. Also removed was Wendy Noble, his deputy at the NSA, who has been reassigned within the Pentagon. Their replacements are Cyber Command Deputy William Hartmann and NSA Executive Director Sheila Thomas, respectively.
Haugh occupied one of the most critical national security roles in the U.S. government, overseeing tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel tasked with gathering intelligence on foreign adversaries while defending against cyber threats.
The decision comes just a day after the White House dismissed three National Security Council officials linked to the so-called “Signalgate” scandal. The controversy erupted when senior officials used the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss a military offensive in Yemen. Due to an internal mishap, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the chat and followed the discussions for four days before publishing a detailed account of the administration’s planning.
According to CNN, the latest dismissals were allegedly influenced by Trump’s meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer, a vocal MAGA supporter known for promoting conspiracy theories, including unfounded claims about 9/11 and inflammatory rhetoric regarding Haitian immigrants.
Loomer has had a long-standing association with Trump, dating back to 2017 when she was arrested for disrupting a performance of Julius Caesar in New York’s Central Park. The play depicted a Trump-like Caesar, a portrayal that angered many on the right. Since then, Loomer has positioned herself as a staunch Trump ally, running unsuccessfully for Congress in Florida and gaining notoriety for her controversial statements. She has also been a critic of Elon Musk, who initially banned her from X (formerly Twitter) before reinstating her after Trump’s intervention.
Last year, Loomer accompanied Trump on his 9/11 anniversary visits to New York and Pennsylvania and was seen disembarking from his plane ahead of a debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. She later claimed she had been invited as a guest.
The Associated Press reports that during a Wednesday meeting in the Oval Office, Loomer urged Trump to purge National Security Council officials who she believed had failed to adequately explain why top security and Pentagon officials were using Signal for official communications, a violation of standard protocols. Trump reportedly agreed, leading to Haugh and Noble’s dismissals. On Friday morning, Loomer posted a series of attacks on Democrats on X, claiming prior knowledge of the firings.
“Exactly one hour before he received the termination email, Laura Loomer posted on social media about Mr. Schleifer, calling him a “Biden holdover.”
More to come! pic.twitter.com/ndc0qAXdf3
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) April 3, 2025
As is often the case with Trump’s administration, when a major misstep comes to light, the response is not to correct it but to penalize those perceived as disloyal. The underlying issue, however, remains unaddressed.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s role in the Signalgate affair. The inquiry aims to determine “the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DOD personnel complied with DOD policies and procedures on the use of a commercial messaging app for official business,” according to an internal memo.
Despite the fallout, Trump has yet to dismiss any cabinet members involved in the Signal chats, though anxiety is reportedly growing among National Security Council staff. Among those under scrutiny is National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, accused of using a personal Gmail account for government communications and setting up at least 20 Signal chat groups to coordinate work on sensitive foreign policy issues, including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Africa, and Europe.
But as is often the case with Trump once a macroscopic error in his Administration is discovered, instead of remedying it, those who smell disloyalty are punished. The error, however, is neither corrected nor even admitted.
On Thursday, an internal Pentagon investigation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was involved in the Signalgate affair, got under way. This was announced by the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General. The investigation will be used to ascertain “the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DOD personnel complied with DOD policies and procedures on the use of a commercial messaging app for official business,” a memo said.
The president has so far not fired any of his ministers who took part in the chat on Signal although several members of his National Security Council are reportedly on edge. These include adviser Mike Waltz, who is also accused of using his Gmail account for government communications and creating at least 20 chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues on major foreign policy dossiers such as Ukraine, China, Gaza, Africa and Europe.
