May 23, 2025

Trump slashes National Security Council from 400 to 50 staff during Iran crisis

Trump fires 345 NSC experts mid-Iran crisis, hands Rubio both diplomacy and military strategy

🌪️Disaster Management🛡️National Security🏛️Government

On May 23, 2025, Trump cut NSC staff from 395 to ~50 people (87% reduction) by email at 4:30 PM on a Friday, giving staff 30 minutes to leave (Bloomberg, NPR, Washington Post)

Marco Rubio became the first person since Henry Kissinger (1973-75) to hold both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor roles simultaneously (Fortune, Military.com)

Mike Waltz was removed as NSA on May 1, 2025, after accidentally adding The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a classified Signal chat about Yemen Houthi strikes on Mar. 13, 2025 (CBS News, The Hill)

NSC Middle East director Eric Trager and Israel/Iran director Merav Ceren were fired on May 23, 2025, eliminating regional expertise during Iran nuclear negotiations (Times of Israel, Jewish Insider)

The cuts came during active U.S.-Iran nuclear talks: Round 1 (Apr. 12, Oman), Round 4 (May 11, Oman), new sanctions (May 12), then mass firings (May 23) (Multiple sources)

Trump eliminated entire NSC directorates including African Affairs and Multilateral Organizations, while the Middle East section shrank from 10 staff to 5 (Foreign Policy, CNN)

The NSC staff size fell to its lowest level since the early 1990s (George H.W. Bush era: ~50 staff), below Robert O'Brien's 2020 reduction to 105-120 (Congressional Research Service, Washington Times)

Andy Baker (VP Vance's advisor) and Robert Gabriel became deputy NSAs, replacing career civil servants with Trump loyalists (CBS News, Institute for Global Affairs)

🌪️Disaster Management🛡️National Security🏛️Government

Test Your Knowledge

How were the dismissed NSC staff notified of their termination?

How many NSC staff did Trump cut from nearly 400 to approximately what number?

Who has Trump relied on for major foreign policy decisions instead of the NSC?

What specific incident damaged Waltz's standing before his removal?

What unprecedented arrangement did Trump create with Marco Rubio?

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People, bills, and sources

Donald Trump

President of the United States

Marco Rubio

Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor

Mike Waltz

Former National Security Advisor (Jan-May 2025)

Eric Trager

Former NSC Senior Director for Middle East

Merav Ceren

Former NSC Director for Israel and Iran

Andy Baker

Deputy National Security Advisor

Robert Gabriel

Deputy National Security Advisor

Jeffrey Goldberg

Editor-in-Chief, The Atlantic

What you can do

Call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them: I am concerned that firing 87% of NSC staff during the Iran crisis weakens national security. Please hold oversight hearings on the May 23 mass firings and demand Trump restore minimum staffing levels required by law.

Email the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at SFRC_Web@foreign.senate.gov asking for public hearings on NSC staffing cuts and investigation into whether eliminating Middle East expertise during Iran nuclear talks violated the National Security Act.

File a FOIA request at https://www.whitehouse.gov/foia/ asking for: (1) internal memos justifying May 23 staff cuts, (2) organizational charts before/after restructuring, (3) communications between Trump, Rubio, Baker, Gabriel about NSC downsizing.

Track Congressional Research Service reports at https://crsreports.congress.gov - search National Security Council staffing - report R44828 provides historical staffing data to cite when contacting lawmakers.

Contact your representatives and ask them to co-sponsor bills requiring: (1) minimum 100 policy staff for NSC, (2) protection for career civil servant detailees, (3) prohibition on dual Secretary of State/NSA roles.

Submit a complaint to the Government Accountability Office at https://www.gao.gov/about/what-gao-does/fraud-hotline asking GAO to investigate whether Trump NSC cuts violated federal staffing laws or created national security risks.