As the White House cuts more than 100 positions from the National Security Council, some former officials and analysts are raising concerns about whether a leaner staff can handle today’s fast-paced and volatile global security landscape.
About half of the NSC’s 350-member team is being let go in what the administration describes as a “right-sizing” of a traditionally bloated organization, long dominated by career diplomats who critics say are misaligned with the president’s priorities.
Personnel originally detailed from agencies like the State Department and Pentagon are being reassigned to their home departments, while political appointees placed on administrative leave have been promised new roles elsewhere in the administration, Fox News reported.
Some former NSC officials told the outlet that it’s still too soon to determine whether the shake-up will lead to a more streamlined and effective agency or leave it under-resourced and unable to provide timely intelligence for critical national security decisions.
Privately, national security insiders have speculated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, currently serving as interim national security advisor, may be downsizing the agency to head off internal turf wars before resuming his original role.
Michael Allen, a former senior director at the NSC, suggested the staffing overhaul reflects President Donald Trump’s preference for tighter control over major policy decisions.
“I think he wants people to bring decisions to him earlier than previous presidents,” Allen told Fox News.
The NSC has been navigating turbulent waters since the abrupt departure of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, following the fallout from a mistakenly publicized Signal chat. His deputy, Alex Wong, also recently exited, and Friday’s restructuring saw the removal of several key figures who played major roles in shaping the administration’s early foreign policy agenda.
Among those ousted were Eric Trager, senior director for Middle East affairs and a close adviser to envoy Steve Witkoff during Iran talks, and Andrew Peek, senior director for Europe and Eurasia, who was instrumental in formulating the administration’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Additionally, the restructuring will elevate Andy Barker, currently national security advisor to Vice President J.D. Vance, and Robert Gabriel, assistant to the president for policy, into new roles as deputy national security advisors.
“This happens naturally on NSCs; the kind of stasis we saw in the Biden administration is highly untypical,” said Victoria Coates, a former deputy national security adviser to Trump.
She went on to say that President Ronald Reagan had a half-dozen national security advisers during his two terms, along with two acting NSAs.
“For the president, he has legitimate concerns about the NSC from the first term, given what happened, and then, you know, there’s no sugar-coating it: the situation with Signalgate was a problem for NSA Waltz,” Coates told Fox. “The president is taking actions to get the NSC into a condition that he would have complete confidence in it.”
With a leaner National Security Council, President Trump is expected to rely more heavily on Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to deliver his daily intelligence briefings, Fox added.
“One thing that makes this administration unique is that it’s the president himself and a small circle of advisors who truly matter and make decisions,” Brian Katulis, a former NSC official and fellow at the Middle East Institute, told the outlet. “They just don’t see the need for ongoing interagency meetings like in previous administrations.”
He noted further that, as he sees it, the bigger risk isn’t a lack of intelligence but rather a lack of coordination.
“Rather than gaps in intel or knowledge, what I’d worry more about is whether different agencies are singing from the same sheet of music,” he said.