Trump fires national security officials after Laura Loomer ‘excoriated’ them in Oval Office meeting
National security officials receiving pink slips from President Donald Trump may have Laura Loomer to blame.
Trump has fired at least three National Security Council staff workers, CNN is reporting.
Loomer, a far-right social media influencer who has Trump’s ear and is known for spreading wild conspiracy theories, met Wednesday with the president and others in the Oval Office, where she attacked “the character and loyalty of numerous” National Security Council officials, the New York Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the meeting.
“Ms. Loomer walked into the White House with a sheaf of papers, which amounted to a mass of opposition research,” the Times reported.
“She proceeded to excoriate them in front of their boss, the national security adviser Michael Waltz, who was also in the meeting,” reported the outlet, which cited seven people in total familiar with the meeting.
“It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings,” Loomer said in a posting on X.
“I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security.”
In 2023, Loomer shared a video on X that said “9/11 was an Inside Job!” and claimed it was somehow related to then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s announcing $2.3 trillion in “lost” government funds on Sept. 10, 2001.
The post misrepresented Rumsfeld’s remarks, which were about a challenge in tracking funds due to outdated technology. The day before 9/11 was not the first time the problem had been discussed.
The conspiracy theory that U.S. officials are hiding information about the Sept. 11 attacks or were somehow involved in the planning has taken hold among a segment of determined “truthers,” but many of their most prevalent claims have fallen apart upon further scrutiny.
Loomer also promoted QAnon, an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory centered on the belief that Trump is fighting the “deep state.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.