The United States Department of Defense has confirmed it fired the head of the National Security Agency, in a move that sparked outrage over an alleged purge of security officials.

On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell released a short statement, acknowledging the departure of four-star Air Force General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), one of the government’s top intelligence-gathering bodies.

Haugh also led the US Cyber Command, which prepares for and defends against attacks in the digital sphere.

“The Defense Department thanks General Timothy Haugh for his decades of service to our nation, culminating as US Cyber Command commander and National Security Agency director. We wish him and his family well,” Parnell said.

Multiple media reports, however, suggested that Haugh’s ouster came at the suggestion of a far-right internet activist, Laura Loomer, who supported President Donald Trump’s campaign for re-election in 2024.

Democrats also seized upon the fact that Trump did not fire anyone involved in the recent controversy over the use of the messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen – something that came to light after a journalist was accidentally added to the chat.

“Gen. Haugh led the NSA and Cyber Command with steady, effective leadership,” Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona wrote on social media Friday.

“By dismissing him and failing to hold anyone accountable for the threat to U.S. pilots over Signal, Trump has shown he values loyalty over competence – making us all less safe.”

Another Democratic senator, Mark Warner of Virginia, echoed that sentiment, calling the situation “so crazy it defies belief”.

“Trump refused to fire the people that embarrassed America and risked servicemembers’ lives in the Signalgate scandal,” Warner wrote, “but fired Gen. Haugh, a nonpartisan national security expert, at the advice of a self-described ‘pro-white nationalist’.”

Haugh was just one in a slate of firings this week that came after Trump met with Loomer at the White House.

Media reports indicate Haugh’s civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, was booted from her position as well and reassigned.

In addition, multiple members of the National Security Council also appear to have been removed from their positions, including Brian Walsh, a senior director of intelligence, and Thomas Boodry, the senior director of legislative affairs.

The Reuters news agency estimated that more than a dozen security officials were dismissed as part of the alleged purge.

As he flew to South Florida for a golf tournament on Thursday, Trump addressed the rumours, acknowledging “some” people were fired but refusing to give specifics about the total.

“Always, we’re going to let go of people – people we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people who may have loyalties to someone else,” Trump said from Air Force One.

He also addressed his meeting with Loomer earlier in the week, offering high praise for the internet personality.

“Laura Loomer is a very good patriot,” he said. “She’s a very strong person, and I saw her yesterday for a little while. She makes recommendations.”

When pressed about what that meant, he conceded that Loomer not only recommends individuals to hire – but also to fire. He did, however, dismiss reports that Loomer was involved in a purge of security officials.

Loomer herself addressed Haugh’s removal on Thursday, accusing the four-star general of insufficient loyalty to the Trump administration. She also attempted to paint Haugh as an acolyte of former President Joe Biden, the Democrat who bested Trump in the 2020 election.

“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired,” she wrote.

“Their firings are a blessing for the American people. Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”

Loomer has long been a controversial figure on the US right. She once called herself a “proud Islamophobe” and has spread the debunked conspiracy theory that the attacks on September 11, 2001, were an “inside job”.

Her proximity to the president has caused ripples of concern within Trump’s administration – and has been seized upon as a point of criticism for Democrats.

The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, demanded an “immediate explanation” for Haugh’s firing, arguing it makes “all of us less safe”.

“I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first,” Himes wrote. “I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration.”