© commigineews/Wiggin.com/Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump โข Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman
President Trump is making good on his promises to "drain the swamp" and cut Obama-era holdovers from his staffs, especially the critical and recently controversial National Security Council. Officials confirmed that Trump and national security adviser Robert O'Brien have cut 70 positions inherited from former President Barack Obama,
who had fattened the staff to 200. Many were loaners from other agencies and have been sent back. Others left government work. The NSC,
which is the president's personal staff, was rocked
when a "whistleblower" leveled charges that led to Trump's impeachment.
Last week, one key official who testified against Trump at a House hearing on the Ukraine affair that led to impeachment was sent packing.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was returned to the Pentagon. His twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, was also given the boot. Trump had expressed displeasure that Alexander Vindman had
testified against him when the Ukraine specialist said he did not like the phone conversation between the president and a newly elected president of Ukraine.
Since entering the White House, Trump has relied on staffs smaller than previous administrations and has noted how prior presidents had a much smaller NSC team.
O'Brien recently said that former President George W. Bush handled the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with 100 NSC aides, a model he is instituting.
"This month, we will complete the right-sizing goal Ambassador O'Brien outlined in October, and in fact, may exceed that target by drawing down even more positions," John Ullyot, the NSC's senior director for strategic communications, told Secrets.
Comment: The Gateway Pundit, 9/2/2020: Major cuts to NSC
On Friday President Trump fired the two Vindman twins from their National Security Council positions in the Trump White House. This comes after Alexander Vindman admitted to working behind President Trump's back in Ukraine. Army Lt. Col Alexander Vindman was escorted off the White House grounds and dismissed from the National Security Council Friday afternoon.
O'Brien is not finished yet. The National Security Advisor is expected to announce major cuts in the NSC staff this week. CNN reported:
O'Brien has largely been downsizing the NSC by attrition and getting staffers detailed to the council from other departments to return earlier than planned to their home agencies, but one of the sources told CNN it looks like the final phase will involve more direct firings and cuts.
"So it's bloated. We're going to bring it back to a size that's manageable and efficient. And look, the folks who are there, they really need to want to serve the President," O'Brien told Fox News' Laura Ingraham Tuesday night."What I said when I came to the NSC is that I would drastically downsize it," he added. "Another week or two, I think we'll have met our goal," he said.
It is widely known that the alleged anti-Trump whistleblower Eric Ciaramella is an NSC spy in the White House. If he is still in the White House he should be the first one removed.
Comment: The Gateway Pundit, 9/2/2020: Major cuts to NSC