Head of NSA and Cyber Command, who just submitted cyber offense plans, was fired while overseas
On Thursday, Gen. Timothy Haugh, who led the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, learned he was out of a job. Another casualty in President Donald Trump’s remolding of the federal government.
“Haugh learned about it while he was overseas,” a former senior intelligence official with knowledge of the matter told me on the condition of anonymity. “They didn’t even wait until he came back.”
And Haugh was shocked. “He’s always known it’s a political environment, but the timing of it completely caught him by surprise,” the person went on to say. “It has nothing to do with his performance.”
His firing comes as the U.S. Cyber Command is trying to ramp up cyberoffense, especially after China’s Volt and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks hit American infrastructure and telecommunications. “Haugh had just submitted plans to Defense Secretary [Pete] Hegseth to that point,” the former official said.
Fears of personnel cuts came after Elon Musk visited NSA’s headquarters on March 12. “By all accounts, the Musk meeting several days earlier went fine, so there is no reason to think that Musk had a hand in this. Everything points to this being solely the work of Lara Loomer.”
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Lara Loomer sat down with Trump at the White House this week. She reportedly discussed her concerns over staffers’ loyalties, and then came the oustings of six, lesser known members of the National Security Council.
On Friday morning, after Haugh’s termination, Loomer wrote this in a social media post:
“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired. As a Biden appointee, General Haugh had no place serving in the Trump admin given the fact that he was HAND PICKED by General Milley, who was accused of committing treason by President Trump. Why would we want an NSA Director who was referred to Biden after being hand selected by Milley, who told China he would side with them over Trump!?!?… Given the fact that the NSA is arguably the most powerful intel agency in the world, we cannot allow for a Biden nominee to hold that position… This is called VETTING….”
Loomer went on to call it “a blessing for the American people.”
But the former senior intelligence official told me that Haugh has a stellar reputation. “He is well regarded in the Pentagon, he is extremely popular within the NSA and the Command. There is no particular action he took or operation that failed, that went wrong. And his only crime seems to be that he was appointed by Biden.”
Haugh did have a hand in protecting the United States from Russian designs on our elections. He was one of the heads of the group investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community assessed that Moscow — through hacks, leaks, and disinformation — tried to undermine then-candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump.
Haugh was also the Cyber Command lead for the 2018 “Russia Small Group,” under Gen. Paul Nakasone. A joint Cyber Command/NSA task force, RSG countered Russian cyberattacks and influence operations during the 2018 midterm elections.
Inside the NSA, Haugh had a reputation of being knowledgeable and approachable, especially after Trump’s return to the White House, according to another former senior intelligence official who would only speak on background. “Agency folks had great trust in his leadership through these uncertain times.”
I asked the person how Haugh had been navigating the agency under the shadow of DOGE and Trump’s skepticism of the intel community. “He was communicating about what’s known and what’s not known… He reminded folks that the agency values are the same, ‘We’re going to operate according to those values.’” And Haugh was known for being soft-spoken and optimistic.
What are NSA officers saying today, now that Haugh’s tenure is one day into history? “They’re just shocked,” the person said. “Some people are saying, ‘I shouldn’t be shocked, but I am.’”
Because Haugh’s firing appears to be a political decision, there are newfound fears that intelligence itself could become politicized. “Are [intel officers] going to have to be looking over their shoulder, will intelligence need to be interpreted in a different way?”
There are also fears that senior officers at the NSA and Cyber Command may take their expertise elsewhere, like to the high-paying tech companies across the street. And that would make these places “less resilient to political shenanigans.”
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, “At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored, how does firing him make Americans any safer?”
The people I talked to for this story shared that thought.
“If ever there was a time when you wanted to have intact, continued expertise at the top of NSA and Cyber Command, it would be now,” the first official told me. “This would be the moment to not change captains, in the middle of the storm.”
“Trump is unwittingly the single biggest gift to China,” the person added. “If you were writing the [Chinese Communist Party] 20-year playbook, it would be to create destabilization internally in the U.S., weaken its position with allies, corrode its trust around the world, and destroy government institutions. Check every box.”