Amid Trump anger about leaks, O'Brien to slash National Security Council staff by almost half [View all]
Source: CNN
President Donald Trump's new national security adviser Robert O'Brien told White House staff today he will slash the National Security Council staff by nearly half and increase the percentage of political appointees in the process, sources tell CNN.
O'Brien, who has been on the job for less than two months, hosted an all-staff NSC meeting Thursday afternoon spoke with outside allies of the Trump White House to announce the cuts, two sources familiar with the meeting explained.
The newly minted national security adviser told White House staffers and outside allies that he plans to shrink the NSC staff by about 50% by early 2020, reducing total staff numbers through attrition from around 200 people now to a total staff of about 120.
O'Brien said the shift would increase the percentage of political appointees compared to experts from the government agencies who normally fill the bulk of roles at the NSC, which is widely seen as the brains behind White House foreign policy making.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/10/politics/trump-nsc-cuts/index.html
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