The director of the American National Security Agency (NSA) Timothy Hogg was dismissed yesterday, several American media reported.
As reported by the American media, referring to American officials, Hogg’s deputy in the NSA, Wendy Noble, was also replaced.
The National Security Agency is a powerful surveillance and cyberespionage service, reports Agence France-Presse.
The US Department of Defense, under which that agency is located, has not yet responded to an inquiry by Agence France-Presse about that alleged shift.
General Hogg, who also led cyber defense operations in the Pentagon (Cyber Command), took over as director of the NSA just over a year ago.
Leading Democratic members of the US Congress have protested the alleged removal of General Hogg as director of the NSA, with one of them saying the decision makes everyone in the US less safe.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, said General Hogg served America honorably for more than 30 years in uniform and asked how his removal, at a time when the US is facing unprecedented cyber threats, makes Americans safer.
A senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, Democratic Representative Jim Hymes, said he was “deeply disturbed by the decision” and that the Intelligence Committee and the American people were demanding an immediate explanation for the decision, which he added made everyone less safe.
Earlier yesterday, US President Donald Trump said he had fired “some” National Security Council officials, in a move that came after far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly with him about the loyalty of some White House staff.
According to the New York Times, influential Laura Loomer asked Trump to fire Timothy Hogg during a meeting with him at the White House on Wednesday. She asked the president to fire staff who she deemed insufficiently loyal to his agenda to “make America great again.”
“NSA Director Tim Hogg and his Deputy Director Wendy Noble have shown disloyalty to President Trump, which is why they have been removed,” she wrote on the X Network.
Since returning to power in January, the Republican president has launched a sweeping reorganization of the military, including firing Chief of Staff Charles Brown.