Director of the National Security Agency, Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, was reportedly fired Thursday from his post as the head of the agency.
Haugh’s removal as director of the NSA, the nation’s primary cyber espionage and electronic eavesdropping agency, comes on the same day at least three White House National Security Council staffers were also reportedly shown the door.
The ousted NSA director’s civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, was also let go Thursday, according to the Washington Post, citing current and former US officials.
Noble was reassigned to a role within the Pentagon’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, according to the outlet.
The reason behind the NSA shakeup is unknown, the US officials told the outlet.
Haugh, who also serves as the Pentagon’s Cyber Command chief, had led the NSA since February 2024.
It’s unclear if the Air Force general will remain at his Cyber Command post following his removal from the Fort Meade, Md.-based spy agency.
Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk was hosted by Haugh at NSA headquarters just last month, his first known visit to a US intelligence agency.
Lt. Gen. William J. Hartmann – Haugh’s deputy at Cyber Command – will take over as acting director of the NSA, according to the Washington Post.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, slammed Haugh’s dismissal.
“General Haugh has served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years. At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored, how does firing him make Americans any safer?” Warner wrote on X.
The senator also took aim at President Trump – referencing reports that the firings of National Security Council staffers came shortly after he took a meeting with right-wing influencer Laura Loomer.
“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 in a separate post.
Trump acknowledged his meeting with Loomer on Thursday but denied that his conversation with her prompted the National Security Council firings.
When reached for comment, the NSA referred The Post to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond to a message.
The White House also did not respond to a request for comment on Haugh’s firing.
