Incoming Trump team is questioning the loyalty of National Security Council civil servants

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top officials in the incoming Trump administration have begun questioning career civil servants working on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they issued any Social media posts to consider.

The official said at least some of these non-political employees have begun packing their bags since being asked about their loyalty to Trump — after they were told the new administration would require them to remain on the National Security Council. spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, has publicly stated in recent days that he intends to fire all non-political appointees and career intelligence officials serving on the National Security Council before Inauguration Day to ensure that The committee is staffed with people who support Trump’s agenda.

The wholesale removal of foreign policy and national security experts from the National Security Council on the first day of the new administration could cause the Trump team to lose a lot of expertise and institutional knowledge at a time when the United States is grappling with Ukraine, the Middle East and Difficult policy challenges elsewhere. Such skepticism may also make newly hired policy experts on the National Security Council less likely to speak out about policy disagreements and concerns.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has strongly urged the incoming Trump administration to retain career government employees assigned to the National Security Council at least during the early days of the new administration.

“Given everything that’s going on in the world, it’s really important to make sure that you have a team that’s up to speed and ready to continue delivering on the 20th at 12:01, 12:02, 12:03 p.m. things.

The National Security Council staffers whose loyalties have been questioned are primarily subject matter experts who are seconded to the White House by federal agencies — such as the State Department, FBI and CIA — to serve in temporary positions, typically lasting one to two years. If removed from the NSC, they will be returned to their home institution.

The review of civil servants began last week, the official said. Some have been questioned by Trump’s appointees to the National Security Council, who asked them to stay weeks ago. The National Security Council has dozens of board-level civil servants who were expected to remain in the White House in the new administration.

Another U.S. official told The Associated Press that officials in the incoming Trump administration notified him weeks ago that they planned to ask career appointees working in the White House, including those on the National Security Council, about their political leanings. However, the official was not authorized to comment publicly and has not yet been formally vetted.

Walz told Breitbart News last week that “everyone will resign at 12:01 a.m. on January 20th.” He added that he expected the National Security Council personnel to be “100 percent aligned with the president’s agenda.” ”.

“We are working hard to complete our process to get everyone licensed and complete the transition process immediately,” Walz said. “Our staff knows who we want out of the agency and we are making those requests and as far as detailing who will go back.”

A Trump transition official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters said the incoming administration believed it was “completely appropriate” to find officials who share the same vision as the incoming president and are focused on common goals.

The National Security Council was established during the Truman Administration as a department of the White House, tasked with advising and assisting the President on national security and foreign policy and coordinating among various government agencies. It is common for National Security Council-appointed experts to move from one administration to the next, even if the White House changes political parties.

Sullivan said he had not discussed staffing issues with Walz and said “it’s up to the next national security adviser to decide how they want to conduct themselves. I can only speak to how we did it and what I think worked.”

“When they’re selected, they’re not selected based on their political affiliation or policy views, they’re selected based on their experience and ability, so we have people who are truly diverse in terms of views, perspectives, viewpoints, etc. “The common denominator in all of this is that here we get the best of the State Department, the Intelligence Community, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department.”

Sullivan noted that when Biden takes office in 2021, he inherits most of the National Security Council staff from the outgoing Trump administration.

“Those guys were awesome,” Sullivan said. “They’re really good.”

Trump was hurt during his first term when two career military officers assigned to the National Security Council became whistleblowers, raising concerns about Trump’s 2019 call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call sought an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter. The incident led to Trump’s first impeachment.

Alexander Vindman was listening to the call in his capacity as a National Security Council official when he was shocked by what he heard. He approached his twin brother, Eugene, who was working as an ethics lawyer at the National Security Council. The Vindmans reported their concerns to superiors.

Alexander Vindman said in a statement on Friday that the Trump team’s efforts to staff the National Security Council “will have a chilling effect on senior policy staff across the government.”

He added, “Talented professionals fearful of being fired for taking a principled stand or providing objective advice will either self-censor or abandon their services altogether.”

The two men were hailed as patriots by Democrats for their outspokenness but derided by Trump as insubordinate. Eugene Vindman was elected as a Democrat in November to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.