Following the Trump administration’s reorganization of the National Security Council staff, former NSC staffers say the president appears to place more confidence in the State Department to execute his foreign policy agenda.

President Donald Trump put more than 100 staffers from the NSC on administrative leave on the Friday before Memorial Day. That included both career employees and political hires by the Trump administration.

After disloyal personnel caused turbulence within the NSC during Trump’s first term, the president has taken pains to prevent career bureaucrats from interfering with his agenda. 

While Trump’s distrust of the “deep state” is warranted, former NSC employees told The Daily Signal they fear disempowering the council could give more authority to hostile bureaucrats in the State Department and other agencies.

Federal Election Commission data show that, during the 2019-2020 election cycle, 93% of all political contributions from U.S. State Department employees went to Democratic Party candidates or political action committees.  

But a White House official told The Daily Signal that the “right-sizing” of the NSC is in line with the restructuring of various agencies to better serve the president. The official said Trump’s decision to make the NSC smaller makes it more nimble and efficient.

“The National Security Council has been consolidated to facilitate more streamlined processes and greater coordination between the White House and the federal agencies,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Signal. “President Trump works tirelessly to keep Americans safe, and it is imperative that all components within the White House, and across the executive branch, are working together at an efficient pace.”

The NSC staff could be........

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