Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter{beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The Big Story  Laura Loomer and Trump’s natsec purge: What to knowPresident Trump this week purged various national security officials after meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer.© AP The Trump administration fired at least a half dozen officials in both the Defense Department's National Security Agency (NSA) and the White House’s National Security Council.  The move came a day after Loomer, an activist linked to far-right conspiracies, met with Trump in the White House and reportedly brought a list of officials who she argued couldn’t be trusted.   The purge of national security officials so far includes at least six at the National Security Council, which is overseen by national security adviser Mike Waltz, and the top two leaders of the NSA, an intelligence agency within the Department of Defense.   Those out at the council include Brian Walsh, senior director of intelligence; Thomas Boodry, senior director of legislative affairs; and David Feith, senior director of technology and national security. The New York Times also reported that Maggie Dougherty, the senior director for international organizations, was forced out. Boodry was also an aide to Waltz when he was House member in Congress.  Also sacked Thursday was Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, who led both the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, and his deputy, Wendy Noble, who has reportedly been reassigned within the Pentagon.   Sen. Mark Warner (Va.) and Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrats on their respective intelligence committees, blasted the removal of Haugh in particular. Warner noted the timing, coming a week after Trump’s national security officials faced backlash to reporting about their use of a Signal chat for military planning — and accidentally inviting a journalist into the group chat.  The National Security Council ousters have rankled those in the national security and defense communities, with critics of the move expressing concern the firings would serve to weaken U.S. intelligence and security.  Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said it “raises eyebrows” when “there is a firing of people on the National Security Council or their staff, particularly people that we have respect for, who were part of the Intel community to begin with here in the Senate,” according to The Associated Press. Particularly strong criticism has been aired over the firing of Haugh, who had led the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command since 2023.  Haugh oversaw the agencies’ significant roles in U.S. cybersecurity — the NSA collects and analyzes huge amounts of information to support the military and other federal national security agencies, while U.S. Cyber Command plans offensive operations against enemies and defends U.S. networks.  Read the full report at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect defense and national security now and inthe future: Trump to send Hegseth to Dover ceremony for remains of US soldiers President Trump will not attend the dignified transfer of four American soldiers who died during a training exercise in Lithuania last week, instead sending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to  Dover Air Force Base, Del., while he remains in Florida.  Hegseth’s attendance was confirmed by the White House on Friday. Trump will not travel back for the transfer and remain at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., where he is …  Full Story   House Democrat demands written explanation for ouster of NSA directorRep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) is demanding that the Trump administration provide a written explanation of its rationale for firing the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) alongside its deputy.  Full Story   GOP lawmaker criticizes Trump’s ouster of NSA chief Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) criticized President Trump’s ouster of the director of the National Security Agency (NSA), arguing that Gen. Timothy Haugh’s firing will hinder the country’s Cyber and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) operations.   Full Story   On Our Radar  Upcoming things we're watching on our beat:  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit Panama next week to meet with the country’s president and attend a meeting of regional chiefs of defense. He will also visit military sites and the Panama Canal itself.  In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Judge orders Maryland man mistakenly deported released from Salvadoran prison A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to return to the U.S. a Maryland man it mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. Full Story   On Tap Monday  Events in and around the defense world:  The Center for Strategic and International Studies will discuss "The Future of U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Cooperation," at  11 a.m.  What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets: Air Force backtracks on banning personal pronouns from email signatures (Military.com) Israeli strikes kill at least 17 in Gaza as ground troops enter Palestinian territory’s north (The Associated Press) Trending Today  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Here’s what to know about Saturday’s ‘Hands Off!’ anti-Trump protests Nationwide protests are set to take place Saturday in opposition to the Trump administration and its allies, with leaders vowing to stand up to push … Read more Divided Supreme Court sides with Trump to block teacher grants A divided Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration by allowing officials to block $65 million in teacher development grants frozen over concerns … Read more  Opinions in The Hill Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: The dangers of Hegseth’s overly hasty Pentagon personnel review Why the US is striking the Houthis in Yemen  You're all caught up. 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