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| Trump reportedly to make drastic cuts to US National Security Council | Trump reportedly to make drastic cuts to US National Security Council |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Staff to be cut to dozens, with more authority expected to be handed to state and defense departments | Staff to be cut to dozens, with more authority expected to be handed to state and defense departments |
| A large restructuring of the US National Security Council got under way on Friday as Donald Trump moved to reduce the size and scope of the once-powerful agency, five sources briefed on the matter said. | A large restructuring of the US National Security Council got under way on Friday as Donald Trump moved to reduce the size and scope of the once-powerful agency, five sources briefed on the matter said. |
| Staff dealing with a variety of major geopolitical issues were sent termination notices on Friday, said the sources, who requested anonymity as they were not permitted to speak to the media. | Staff dealing with a variety of major geopolitical issues were sent termination notices on Friday, said the sources, who requested anonymity as they were not permitted to speak to the media. |
| The move comes just weeks after the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, took over from Mike Waltz as national security adviser. The NSC declined to comment. | The move comes just weeks after the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, took over from Mike Waltz as national security adviser. The NSC declined to comment. |
| The restructuring of the NSC is expected to further reduce the agency’s influence, transforming it from a powerful policymaking body into a small organization focused more on implementing the president’s agenda than on shaping it, the sources said. In practice, the move is expected to grant more authority to the state department, the defense department and other agencies, the sources said. | |
| The aim is to reduce the size of the NSC to just a few dozen people, down from hundreds. Four sources with knowledge of the plans said they expect the final headcount at the NSC to come out to around 50 people. | |
| The NSC is the main body used by presidents to coordinate national security strategy. Its staff often make key decisions regarding the US’s approach to the world’s most volatile conflicts and play a key role in keeping the US safe. | The NSC is the main body used by presidents to coordinate national security strategy. Its staff often make key decisions regarding the US’s approach to the world’s most volatile conflicts and play a key role in keeping the US safe. |
| The firings will reduce the NSC’s already pared-down staff. The body had more than 300 staffers under the Democratic president Joe Biden, but even before the recent firings under Trump, it was less than half the size of Biden’s NSC. | The firings will reduce the NSC’s already pared-down staff. The body had more than 300 staffers under the Democratic president Joe Biden, but even before the recent firings under Trump, it was less than half the size of Biden’s NSC. |
| The NSC staffers who are cut from the agency will be moved to other positions in government, two of the sources told Reuters. | The NSC staffers who are cut from the agency will be moved to other positions in government, two of the sources told Reuters. |
| Many conservatives have long pushed for a pared-down NSC, arguing that a number of the positions are duplicative of functions found elsewhere in the government. | |
| The NSC has had a hard time recruiting top talent in recent months. Certain key positions, like the top post overseeing Latin American affairs, were never filled on a permanent basis. | |
| Several high-ranking staffers were fired earlier in the year after the rightwing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer presented Trump with a list of national security staffers she perceived to be disloyal. | |
| Disclosures that Waltz, the previous national security adviser, had accidentally shared information on an imminent bombing campaign in Yemen with an Atlantic journalist further dented morale. | |
| As part of the restructuring, certain sections of the NSC – known as directorates – are expected to be combined with other directorates or eliminated altogether, three sources said. In most of the directorates that remain, only a few staff are left, the sources added. | |
| Among the directorates that may cease to operate as independent bodies are those overseeing African affairs and multilateral organizations, like Nato, three sources said. |