U.S. President Donald Trump has fired several National Security Council (NSC) staff members after far-right activist Laura Loomer urged him to remove individuals she accused of disloyalty.
The dismissals, described by one U.S. official as a “bloodbath,” followed a contentious Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, sending ripples through Washington and raising questions about loyalty tests within the administration’s national security apparatus.
Laura Loomer met with Trump, Vice President JD Vance, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Communications Director Steven Cheung, and Sergio Gor, head of presidential personnel, in the Oval Office.
According to The New York Times and Axios, Loomer arrived with detailed research targeting NSC staffers she deemed unfaithful to Trump. She confronted Waltz directly, condemning two specific members under his supervision, escalating tensions in the room.
Loomer’s Targeted Allegations
Loomer singled out Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong and Senior Director for Asia Ivan Kanapathy, both veterans of Trump’s first administration.
In social media posts, she labeled Wong a Harvard-educated attorney and son of Chinese immigrants as a “Chinese Deputy National Security Adviser.”
She questioned his loyalty, pointing to his wife, a prosecutor in the Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office during the January 6 riot prosecutions, whom she called a “Chinese woman” who worked under Obama and Biden.
Loomer speculated that Wong might have orchestrated the “Signalgate snafu” a recent embarrassment for the administration as a “foreign op” for China, even calling for an FBI investigation into him and his wife.
She also attacked Kanapathy for his post-Trump employment at Beacon Global Strategies, a consultancy employing Democrats like former CIA Director Mike Morrell and ex-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who questioned a 2020 New York Post report on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Loomer argued this association reflected poorly on Kanapathy’s judgment and allegiance to Trump.
The NSC Firings
Post-meeting, Trump dismissed at least three senior NSC officials, including senior directors, per The New York Times. Axios reported the purge could expand, with an official warning of a “bloodbath” within the council.
The White House and NSC have not responded to inquiries from The Independent, leaving the full scope of the firings unclear. Loomer, meanwhile, decried West Wing leaks about her visit on X, refusing to divulge details out of “respect” for Trump and Oval Office privacy.
Who Is Laura Loomer?
Loomer, a self-described “investigative journalist,” is a prominent MAGA loyalist known for her far-right activism and conspiracy theories. She rose to fame during Trump’s first term by filming confrontations with Democrats and has since spread baseless claims, including that 9/11 was an “inside job” and that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s wife faked breast cancer. Despite unease from some Trump aides, her proximity to the former president remains strong.
Implications for the NSC
Trump’s decision to act on Loomer’s demands underscores the sway of far-right figures in his orbit. The purge raises concerns about the NSC’s stability, the vetting of national security staff, and whether loyalty to Trump now supercede professional credentials.
