President Donald Trump has fired several White House National Security Council officials after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his “Make America Great Again” agenda, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Loomer made her case for the firings to Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, took part in the meeting, the people said.

The move by Trump to push out staff comes at a tumultuous moment for Waltz, as he fights calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen. Trump has said he stands by Waltz.

The Presidential Personnel Office has fired at least three senior NSC officials and multiple lower-ranking aides since Wednesday’s meeting with Loomer, according to the people familiar with the situation.

Loomer, who has promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories, was a frequent presence on the campaign trail during Trump’s 2024 successful White House run.

Here are more Trump administration headlines from Thursday:

NATO meeting: Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Brussels on Thursday with newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker as they seek to reassure allies the U.S. is committed to NATO and to demand European allies spend more on defense. “It’s time for Europe to step up and invest more in collective security,” Rubio said on X ahead of the meeting. See Page 6

VA cuts: The Department of Government Efficiency said a roughly $380,000 monthly contract for “minor website modifications” at the Department of Veterans Affairs has been eliminated and replaced with about 10 hours of labor a week from a VA staffer. The VA announced in early March that it was terminating nearly 600 contracts that were duplicative or weren’t mission-critical, saving about $1.8 billion. See Page 7

Congo talks: A Trump administration official said Thursday that the United States is in talks with conflict-plagued Congo on developing its mineral resources under a deal that the Congolese president has said could help make his country safer.

— From wire and Sinclair National Desk reports