Senate Democrats are demanding answers from President Donald Trump after he fired top officials at the National Security Agency (NSA) last week, warning that the administration’s actions “severely compromise our ability to keep Americans safe.”
In an April 7 letter to Trump signed by 24 senators, lawmakers warned the president against further moves that could disable the ability of NSA and U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) to defend against threats to the United States.
Topping the signature list on the letter are Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Last week, the NSA revealed that Gen. Timothy Haugh was removed from his roles as director of the NSA and commander of CYBERCOM. No reason was provided by the Trump administration for Gen. Haugh’s dismissal, and it was later revealed that NSA Deputy Director Wendy Noble had also been fired.
“Not only have both dutifully served this nation for decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations, but their removals were conducted in the middle of the night with no consultation with Congress and according to reports, at the behest of a private citizen who has a record of promoting conspiracy theories,” the senators’ letter reads.
The lawmakers emphasized that the removal of NSA and Cyber Command leadership puts the U.S. at a disadvantage in addressing current and future threats.
“As you are well aware, our nation currently faces serious cyber threats from foreign adversaries, such as from China’s Salt Typhoon, with near-daily attacks against our critical infrastructure,” the senators wrote.
“Given the dangers facing the United States, it is inexplicable that the Administration would remove the senior leaders of NSA/CYBERCOM without cause or warning, and risk disrupting critical ongoing intelligence operations,” they said.
The removals of Gen. Haugh and Noble are the latest in Trump’s continuing purge of Federal officials – many of whom have pulled the administration into court over actions that some judges have ruled to be unconstitutional and outside of presidential authority.
In addition to demanding justification for the firing of the NSA officials, lawmakers stressed that Trump take “careful consideration” and consult with Congress before terminating the dual-hat arrangement that allows a single individual to lead both the NSA and CYBERCOM.
The dual-hat arrangement has historically had overwhelmingly bipartisan support and according to law, certain criteria must be fulfilled before termination of the arrangement can be considered, including requiring that the secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs certify together that the separation won’t pose a threat to efficient operation of CYBERCOM.
“Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequence for our national security,” the letter says.