The NSC shake-up followed a White House visit by Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who urged Trump to purge staff with hawkish foreign policy views.

The National Security Agency chief Timothy Haugh and the deputy director Wendy Noble have been fired by Trump administration. According to The Washington Post, current and former officials said they do not know the reason for Haugh’s dismissal and Noble’s reassignment - after Noble was moved to a role within the Pentagon’s office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.