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Leading congressional Democrats expressed strong opposition on Thursday to the reported dismissal of Gen. Tim Haugh from his position as National Security Agency director, with one representative warning that the decision compromises national security.

According to The Washington Post’s Thursday report, both Haugh and NSA civilian deputy Wendy Noble were removed from their positions. Haugh, who also led U.S. Cyber Command overseeing Pentagon cybersecurity operations, was dismissed according to three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“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 … how does firing him make Americans any safer?” stated Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., voiced serious concerns about the dismissal of General Haugh. “I have known General Haugh to be 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,” Himes said. “The Intelligence Committee and the American people need an immediate explanation for this decision, which makes all of us less safe.”

The dismissals occurred the same day President Donald Trump confirmed removing several White House National Security Council staff members. This followed a meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer, who had urged Trump to remove staff she considered insufficiently loyal to his “Make America Great Again” agenda, according to anonymous sources familiar with the discussion.

During his Air Force One journey to Miami, Trump addressed the personnel changes, stating: “Always we’re letting go of people. People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”

These developments coincide with ongoing pressure for national security adviser Mike Waltz’s resignation after his use of Signal, a public encryption app, to discuss sensitive military operations against Yemeni Houthi militants planned for March 15.

Warner criticized the timing, saying: “It is astonishing, too, that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the National Security Agency 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.”

Prior to his dismissal, Haugh had met with Elon Musk to discuss alignment with new administration priorities through Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has implemented widespread agency budget and personnel reductions.

Having led both organizations since 2023, Haugh oversaw crucial national security functions. The NSA provides vital support to military and security agencies through global data collection and analysis, while Cyber Command serves as the nation’s primary cyber defense force and develops offensive cyber capabilities against potential threats.

Recently, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Cyber Command to suspend certain offensive operations targeting Russia, further highlighting the administration’s shifting approach to intelligence operations.