'Disloyal': Trump fires 'four-star combatant command head' after advice of ​fringe ally​

The head of the National Security Agency was fired Thursday on the recommendation of far-right influencer Laura Loomer, according to sources.

Two current and one former U.S. official told the Washington Post that Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also heads U.S. Cyber Command, was dismissed along with his civilian NSA deputy Wendy Noble, and Loomer confirmed that she had urged president Donald Trump to fire them the previous day in a White House meeting.

“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump,” Loomer posted. “That is why they have been fired.”

ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill

Loomer told the newspaper she urged the president to fire Haugh because he was “handpicked” by Gen. Mark A. Milley, a Trump critic who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2023, when the U.S. Air Force general was nominated to lead Cyber Command and the NSA after leading the Cyber National Mission Force and working on a joint effort to defend the 2018 midterm elections from Russian interference.

“His tenacity in countering Russian efforts was impressive to watch,” said Jason Kikta, who retired from Cyber Command in 2022. “So why this administration would fire someone who was so innovative and aggressive is beyond me.”

Noble was reassigned to a job within the Pentagon’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and Haugh was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment, while a spokesman for defense secretary Pete Hegseth did not respond to a request for comment.

The current and former officials said they were not aware of any official reason given for the pair's removal from their NSA posts, and Democratic lawmakers criticized the moves.

“I am deeply disturbed by the decision," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. "[Haugh is an] honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first. I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this administration.”

Dan Lamothe, military affairs reporter for the Washington Post, said Thursday, "One of the 11 four-star combatant command heads ousted."