'Unprofessional and reckless': Trump admin puts over 100 National Security Council employees on administrative leave

Over 100 officials have been put on administrative leave at the White House’s National Security Council by the Trump administration as part of restructuring under Marco Rubio.

Sources told CNN that an email addressed to dismissed employees from NSC chief of staff Brian McCormack read that the affected employees have 30 minutes to clear out their desks and leave the building, while those who were not on campus were asked to send back a reply mentioning a time to retrieve their belongings and turn in their official devices.

The email subject line read, “Your return to home agency,” suggesting that most of the dismissed employees were sourced to the NSC from other departments and agencies.

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An official said that on Thursday, Rubio held a meeting with top officials, sparking speculation about a possible reorganisation. Then, on Friday in the afternoon, just before the email was sent, senior directors were called into another meeting with Rubio.

The officials who have been put on administrative leave include career officials, and some of them were hired during Trump’s presidency. Sources told the news outlet that many of the staffers at NSC underwent re-interviews by the Office of the Presidential Personnel as the restructuring was in process.

Earlier this month, Mike Waltz, the former head of the NSC, was removed from his position in the first major staff shakeup of the new administration. Trump later announced his intention to nominate Waltz as the next UN ambassador, with Rubio stepping in as acting head of the NSC.

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One of the officials called the dismissals “unprofessional and reckless as could possibly be,” as a flurry of emails were being sent out on Friday containing their personal contact information.

Meanwhile, the restructuring of the NSC is expected to further reduce the agency’s influence, transforming it from a powerful policymaking body into a small organisation focused more on implementing the president’s agenda than on shaping it, the sources said. In practice, the move is expected to grant more authority to the state department, the defence department and other agencies.

With inputs from agencies