Firing Friday: Hundreds of NSC Staffers Sent Packing

First things first, a lot of people got the boot. More than 100 staffers at the National Security Council were told to pack their bags and leave. This all went down on a Friday afternoon, right before a long holiday weekend. Talk about a way to ruin someone's weekend! This move was part of a bigger shake-up at the NSC. The Trump administration was looking to slim down the team and change how things were run. The idea was to have fewer people making big decisions. It was like trying to streamline a big, old car to make it run faster. But did it make it safer? That's a whole other question. The news came via email. The NSC chief of staff sent out a message around 4:20 p. m. saying they had 30 minutes to clear out their desks. If they weren't in the office, they could email to arrange a time to pick up their stuff later. It was like a scene from a movie, but unfortunately, this was real life. The email subject line said it all: "Your return to home agency. " Most of the people affected were on loan from other departments. It was a tough way to find out they were no longer needed. The day before, there had been a meeting with top officials. Rumors were flying that it was about the re-organization. Then, on Friday, senior directors were called to a meeting just before the email went out. It was all happening fast. People started sending out emails with their personal contact info. It was a mad scramble. One official called the whole thing "as unprofessional and reckless as could possibly be. " Ouch. That's some serious criticism. So, who got the boot? Both career officials and political hires made during the Trump administration. In the weeks leading up to this, staffers were being re-interviewed. One of the questions was about the right size for the NSC. It was like they were trying to figure out how to make the team smaller but still effective. The NSC is usually a big deal. It's supposed to coordinate the president's foreign policy agenda. But under Trump, its role had been shrinking. This overhaul was expected to make it even less important. It's like they were trying to make a big, important machine smaller and less powerful. Earlier in the month, Mike Waltz, who had been leading the NSC, was removed. He was replaced by Marco Rubio on an acting basis. Waltz had been in trouble for a while. He had lost a lot of influence after a big mistake. He accidentally added a journalist to a group chat about sensitive military strikes. It was a huge no-no. Even before that, the White House chief of staff had been unhappy with Waltz. And weeks before he was fired, his influence had been fading. It was all part of a bigger power struggle. Far-right activist Laura Loomer had been pushing for changes, and Trump listened.