The Trump administration has fired Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Cyber Command, several news publications reported overnight into Friday.
Haugh, a career military official, led the National Security Agency, the U.S.’s main wiretapping and intelligence-gathering agency, for little more than a year after his appointment in February 2024 following his predecessor’s retirement. Haugh also oversaw Cyber Command, a military unit that conducts offensive cyber operations against U.S. adversaries.
The Washington Post, which first reported the news, and The New York Times, said the firings come after right-wing activist Laura Loomer advocated for Haugh’s firing along with several other national security officials during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday.
NSA deputy director Wendy Noble, who served as the agency’s top civilian leader, was also let go, according to reports.
It’s not clear who is currently overseeing the NSA and Cyber Command following Haugh’s firing.
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When reached by TechCrunch, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly deferred comment to the Department of Defense, which houses the NSA; as did Eddie Bennett, a spokesperson for the National Security Agency.
A spokesperson for the Department of Defense, who did not provide their name, told TechCrunch that the organization has “seen the reports but [has] nothing to offer at this time,” and that it will “provide more information when it becomes available.”
The move to oust one of the country’s top intelligence officials appeared to catch senior lawmakers overseeing the agency by surprise.
In a statement, Mark Warner, a Democrat senator from Virginia and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the news of Haugh’s firing “astonishing.”
“General Haugh has served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years,” said Warner. “At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored, how does firing him make Americans any safer?” he wrote, referring to a series of long-running China-led hacks against U.S. phone and internet giants that were discovered last year.
Warner also criticized the Trump administration for the firing while “still failing to hold any member of his team accountable” for sharing classified information about air strikes in Yemen in a Signal messaging group chat with several other senior cabinet-level officials, which inadvertently included a journalist.
Jim Himes, a Democrat congressman who heads the House’s intelligence committee, said in remarks that he was “deeply disturbed” by the decision to remove Haugh.
In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, met with Haugh at the NSA’s headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. At the time, the NSA said the meeting was to ensure its priorities were aligned with the Trump administration.
Musk had previously called for an “overhaul” at the spy agency but did not provide specifics.
