'Unprofessional and reckless': Trump and Rubio ripped for gutting national security body

23 May

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio react during a campaign event at Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

The Trump administration placed over 100 National Security Council (NSC) staff members at the White House on administrative leave on Friday as part of a reorganization led by interim national security adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to CNN.

The timing — late on a Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend — prompted one official to describe the move as “as unprofessional and reckless as could possibly be," per CNN.

Those affected include both longtime career personnel and political appointees from within the Trump administration.

Earlier, reports suggested that President Donald Trump is weighing significant changes to the role of the national security adviser and the structure of the National Security Council (NSC) staff.

But critics warn that implementing these adjustments could undermine the effectiveness of the NSC.

A Trump administration official told CNN that the “NSC as we know it is done.”

Under Trump's presidency, the NSC's complex structure does not seem to be working like it did under previous presidents, Axios reported Friday.

According to the Axios report, Trump's White House views the NSC as overly bureaucratic and populated by longtime staffers who are out of step with the president’s goals. This is why the administration has been restructuring the body.

A White House official involved in the restructuring told Axios that the latest efforts by Trump and Rubio are meant to push back against what they perceive as Washington’s "deep state."

"If you have officials fighting each other and their agencies always involved in turf wars, you maybe need this process," the official told Axios

"That's not what you have here. Rubio, [Treasury Secretary Scott] Besssent, [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth, [Attorney General Pam] Bondi — all of them know each other and like each other, and they know they're there to execute the president's will," the source added.

In a Wall Street Journal article published earlier this week, analyst John Bolton wrote: "The critical factor in presidential national-security strategy is judgment, and a properly functioning NSC staff can help provide information and options foundational to the sound exercise of judgment."

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