U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption
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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
It’s a classic Washington power move — the late-on-Friday news dump.
This past Friday, at 4:30pm, start of a long holiday weekend, about half the staff of the National Security Council got emails asking them to leave by 5pm. Dozens of people abruptly dismissed.
The restructuring of the NSC as Secretary of State and National Security advisor Marco Rubio has characterized it — continues a trend in this second term for President Trump, of radical downsizing.
The Trump administration plans to cut thousands of intelligence and national security jobs across the government.
The US Government has long relied on scores of intelligence officials across the government to keep America safe. Trump wants many of them gone – what could that mean for security at home and abroad?
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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. . It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
