The Trump administration on Friday fired roughly half the National Security Council as part of a radical restructuring of that body’s structures and functions.
“The right-sizing of the NSC is in line with its original purpose and the president’s vision,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is acting national security advisor, told Axios, which reported the purge. “The NSC will now be better positioned to collaborate with agencies.”
Officials speaking to Axios cited excessive bureaucracy and the improved coordination of disparate departments and agencies as reasons to reduce the size and role of the NSC, which traditionally coordinates national security policies on the direct behalf of the president.
“The NSC is the ultimate Deep State. It’s Marco vs. the Deep State. We’re gutting the Deep State,” an anonymous official said.
Andy Baker, currently Vice President J.D. Vance’s national security advisor, and Robert Gabriel, an assistant to the president for policy, will be serving as deputy national security advisors under Rubio.
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