'Chaos unfolding': How Trump acolytes usurped the US National Security Council

Three months into Donald Trump's second presidency, his supporters in MAGA media are praising his "record of accomplishment" while pushing a "promises made, promises kept" message. But outside the MAGA bubble, many outlets are reporting on chaos within his administration — from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon to National Security Adviser Mike Waltz at the National Security Council (NSC).

The Atlantic's Issac Stanley-Becker discussed that chaos during a late Monday morning, April 28 appearance on CNN.

When host Wolf Blitzer noted the "chaos unfolding" at the NSC and asked Stanley-Becker how Waltz lost control over "his own National Security Council so quickly," the reporter responded, "Well, on both policy and personnel, he has really lost key authority. On policy, we've seen that be swept out from under him by the White House vetting operation, which is dismissing people for infractions related to loyalty and other causes. And then, an extraordinary Oval Office meeting with the far-right activist Laura Loomer — after which, a number of officials were dismissed. So we're seeing these decisions being made by people other than the person in charge of this staff."

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Stanley-Becker continued, "And then, importantly, on policy, according to people I spoke with, he has much less juice on fundamental geopolitical issues than the president's friend and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been tasked with key hotspots Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza. And then, on other important priorities, much less control and much less authority than Stephen Miller, the homeland security advisor and deputy White House chief of staff for policy, who is effectively using the NSC, according to my sources, as a kind of platform to implement his hardline immigration agenda."

Stanley-Becker noted the firings at the NSC that occurred after Loomer met with Trump in the White House Oval Office, saying that Waltz's authority is being usurped.

"What I would say is that the NSC does what it does for a reason," Stanley-Becker told Blitzer. "There's a process that involves senior advisers and Cabinet officials convening, considering options, coordinating across the interagency lawyers who vet significant foreign policy decisions. And what I found in my reporting is that that is not happening in many instances…. So, we're seeing a level of chaos that is really extraordinary."

When Blitzer asked Stanley-Becker where things "stand" with Waltz's relationship with Trump, the reporter responded, "I think he's on thin ice. And what the president ultimately decides to do remains in question."

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Watch the full video below or at this link.