‘Pretty wild’: Trump allies ‘raised eyebrows’ over scuttled NSA move

The National Security Agency quietly considered a major leadership shake-up this week before abruptly backing away from the plan – a move that “raised eyebrows” among allies of President Donald Trump, Politico reported Thursday.

At the center of the now-scuttled proposal was a new agency-wide chief operating officer role – a plan that was reportedly discussed by top NSA officials not appointed by Trump.

“As news of the discussions spread, however, it raised eyebrows among allies of President Donald Trump because the intelligence officials leading those talks were not installed by Trump and appeared to be taking advantage of a leadership vacuum at the agency,” according to Politico.

Trump allies feared the proposed chief operating officer role “was meant as a vehicle” for career officials to undercut the incoming Trump-appointed leadership picks at NSA, the outlet added.

“Pretty wild that they would do this with a caretaker leadership in place,” one source told Politico. Trump fired NSA’s two most senior officials in April without explanation, with longtime agency officials currently filling both roles.

While NSA officials initially declined to comment, an NSA spokesperson later told Politico that “there is no intent for NSA to create a new position at this time.”

The developments underscore the lingering distrust between Trump allies and the intelligence community.

“The concern inside the Trump administration about the possible changes is the latest hint of tensions between the no-nonsense spy agency and allies of Trump, who has repeatedly accused career intelligence officials across the government of trying to undermine him,” Politico added.