As the Trump administration prepares to take over, some new officials are starting to question the loyalty of the career workers at the National Security Council (NSC). They want to know who these employees voted for in the 2024 election, if they supported political groups, and if they have posted anything on social media that might upset Trump’s team.
Some of these non-political staff members are getting nervous and are starting to pack their things, even though they were previously told they could keep their jobs. Mike Waltz, who has been chosen as the new national security adviser, has said he wants to remove all career staff members and bring in people who support Trump.
This could be problematic because getting rid of experienced national security experts right from the start would mean Trump’s team might miss out on valuable advice during tough times, especially with issues like Ukraine and the Middle East. Such questioning might also make it harder for new experts to speak up if they disagree about policies.
Jake Sullivan, the current national security adviser, believes it’s important to keep career employees during the transition. He emphasized that having a knowledgeable team ready to work immediately on Inauguration Day is crucial.
Most of the questioned staff are experts temporarily assigned to the NSC from other federal agencies like the State Department, FBI, and CIA. If they’re let go, they’ll go back to their original jobs. Questions about their political beliefs have started recently, despite earlier assurances from incoming officials that they would be retained.
Waltz mentioned that he wants a team that is fully aligned with Trump’s goals and that everyone involved will be going back to their home agencies. According to a Trump transition official, it’s normal for them to want staff who share the president’s vision.
The NSC was created to help the president with national security matters and usually keeps staff from one administration to the next, even when party lines change. Sullivan stated that it’s up to the next national security adviser to decide how to handle staffing, but he thinks it’s best to choose people based on their skills, not their political views.
During his first term, Trump felt let down when two NSC officers reported concerns about his call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, which later led to his first impeachment. One of those officials, Alexander Vindman, warned that if the new team continues this trend, it could discourage talented professionals from giving their honest opinions, making them either hold back their thoughts or choose not to work in government altogether. Vindman called out the potential chilling impact of these changes, saying they could harm true patriotism in government service.
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