President Trump on Thursday confirmed a reported purge of national security agencies this week, with firings of at least a half dozen officials in both the Pentagon’s National Security Agency (NSA) and the White House’s National Security Council.

The move came the day after Laura Loomer, a political activist linked to far-right conspiracies, met with Trump in the White House and reportedly brought a list of national security officials who couldn’t be trusted.

Here are five things to know about the firings on the national security team.

At least 8 fired so far

The purge of national security officials so far includes six at the National Security Council, which is overseen by national security adviser Mike Waltz, and the top two leaders of the NSA, an intelligence agency within the Department of Defense.

Those out at the council include Brian Walsh, senior director of intelligence; Thomas Boodry, senior director of legislative affairs; and David Feith, senior director of technology and national security. The New York Times also reported that Maggie Dougherty, the senior director for international organizations, was forced out. Boodry was also an aide to Waltz when he was House member in Congress.

Also sacked Thursday was Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, who led both the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, and his deputy, Wendy Noble, who has reportedly been reassigned within the Pentagon.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.) and Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrats on their respective intelligence committees, blasted the removal of Haugh in particular. Warner noted the timing, coming a week after Trump’s national security officials faced backlash to reporting about their use of a Signal chat for military planning — and accidentally inviting a journalist into the group chat.

“It is astonishing that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the NSA while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app – even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national security from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office,” Warner wrote on social platform X.

Loomer reveled in Haugh’s ouster in posts Friday on X.

“As a Biden appointee, General Haugh had no place serving in the Trump admin given the fact that he was HAND PICKED by General Milley, who was accused of committing treason by President Trump,” she wrote, referring to former........

© The Hill