Sources familiar with the restructuring disclosed on Friday that over 100 staff members have been abruptly terminated.
The Trump administration has reportedly initiated a significant restructuring of the National Security Council (NSC), placing more than 100 officials on administrative leave and reducing the staff of the influential advisory and coordination body. A White House source characterized this as an effort to “gut the Deep State.”
Reports on Friday indicated that staff across almost all NSC directorates – including those responsible for critical global regions like Ukraine, Iran, and the Indo-Pacific – were dismissed with minimal warning. CNN and Reuters reported that employees received emails late Friday afternoon, giving them only 30 minutes to vacate their offices.
An administration official told Axios that the reorganization is a strategic move to lessen bureaucratic obstacles and centralize foreign policy decision-making at the highest levels of government, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio – also serving as acting national security adviser – playing a key role.
“The NSC is the ultimate Deep State,” the official stated. “It’s Marco vs. the Deep State. We’re gutting the Deep State.”
The dismissals occurred shortly after Trump fired former national security adviser Mike Waltz and nominated him as ambassador to the United Nations, following concerns involving classified military plans. Waltz’s influence reportedly declined after he inadvertently invited a journalist into a private conversation regarding Yemen airstrikes.
The sudden reorganization, implemented just before the Memorial Day weekend, represents one of the most extensive institutional overhauls of Trump’s second term thus far. It reportedly impacted both career employees and Trump’s own political appointees. The White House has not issued a public statement regarding the staffing changes, but Rubio is expected to continue leading the NSC indefinitely, supported by deputy national security advisers Andy Baker and Robert Gabriel under the new structure.
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