According to The Guardian, U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed six national security staff members after meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer in the Oval Office. During the tense discussion, Loomer reportedly presented POTUS Trump with opposition research, accusing several staffers of disloyalty to his administration. As a result, four employees were fired immediately, while the remaining two were let go over the weekend. The situation raised concerns about Loomer’s level of influence, with some questioning whether she wielded more power over national security decisions than National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Loomer’s report targeted around a dozen staff members, including Waltz’s principal deputy, Alex Wong.

Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz attended the Oval Office meeting. Following the meeting, several national security officials were dismissed, including Brian Walsh, the senior director for intelligence who had previously worked with now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Senate Intelligence Committee; Thomas Boodry, the senior director for legislative affairs and a former legislative director for Waltz in Congress; and Maggie Dougherty, the senior director for international organisations, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The report indicated that some fired officials had recently criticised Trump on social media and had connections to establishment Republicans like the late Senator John McCain and Senator Mitch McConnell, both of whom Trump has openly opposed. Despite being a key focus of Loomer’s report, Alex Wong was not among those dismissed.

In the past, Laura Loomer has criticised Alex Wong over his wife Candice’s work at the Justice Department, where she was involved in prosecuting January 6 Capitol rioters. Loomer has also publicly accused Wong of having sympathies for the Chinese Communist Party. In her opposition research report, Loomer falsely alleged that Wong was responsible for adding The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a sensitive Signal chat discussing the Houthi strikes. However, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz had already admitted that the mistake was his.

It remains unclear how Loomer’s report impacted Waltz. However, he was seen leaving the White House with Trump on Marine One on Thursday, suggesting that the president still supported him. Just last week, Trump chose not to dismiss Waltz over the Signal chat leak controversy.