Incoming Donald Trump officials are questioning career National Security Council (NSC) staff about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and social media activity, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the Associated Press reported.
Some staff are reportedly leaving after initially being told they could stay.
Why It Matters
Removing career NSC staff could strip the administration of critical foreign policy and national security expertise. The questioning could also deter new policy experts from speaking up on key issues affecting decision-making.
What To Know
The NSC was established under President Harry Truman to advise on national security and often retains staff across administrations.
Trump's pick for national security adviser, Florida Representative Mike Waltz, has said he plans to remove all nonpolitical appointees and career intelligence officials by Inauguration Day to ensure the council is staffed with those who support Trump's agenda.
The NSC staff members being questioned about their loyalty are primarily subject matter experts who have been lent to the White House by federal agencies—the State Department, FBI and CIA, for example—for temporary duty that typically lasts one to two years.
Dozens of civil servants at the directorate level at the NSC were anticipating remaining at the White House in the new administration.
Trump was scarred by the NSC during his first term, when two career military officers became whistleblowers, raising their concerns about Trump's 2019 call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which the president sought an investigation of Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
This led to Trump's first impeachment.
What People Are Saying
Representative Mike Waltz told Breitbart News last week that he wanted the NSC staffed by personnel "100 percent aligned with the president's agenda."
"We're working through our process to get everybody their clearances and through the transition process now," Waltz said.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan has urged continuity in staffing for stability.
"Given everything going on in the world, making sure you have in place a team that is up to speed and, you know, ready to continue serving at 12:01, 12:02, 12:03 p.m. on the 20th is really important," Sullivan said on Friday.
Sullivan said it was "up to the next national security adviser to decide how they want to play things. All I can say is how we did it and what I thought worked."
He spoke about how NSC officials are selected.
"When they are selected to come over, they're not selected based on their political affiliation or their policy opinions; they're selected based on their experience and capacity, and so we have a real diversity of people in terms of their views, their politics, their backgrounds."
What Happens Next
Career NSC staff who are removed would return to their home agencies.
Waltz confirmed clearance and transition processes are ongoing for the new administration.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
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