US National Security Agency director and deputy fired from posts — report

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – The director of the US National Security Agency was fired yesterday, the Washington Post reports, citing two current and one former US officials.

Timothy Haugh, who is also head of US Cyber Command, was dismissed along with his deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, the newspaper says.

Noble was reassigned to a job within the Pentagon’s office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, the newspaper says. The NSA is part of the US Defense Department.

The current and former officials cited by the Washington Post say they do not know the reason for Haugh’s dismissal or Noble’s reassignment.

US Cyber Command deputy William Hartmann has been named acting NSA director and Sheila Thomas, who was the executive director at the NSA, is named acting deputy, the newspaper says.

The Pentagon and the White House do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Republican President Donald Trump, since taking office on January 20, has fired multiple top officials at US agencies and installed loyalists.

The NSA is one of the United States’ premier intelligence agencies and uses top-tier, specialized technology and systems to collect and analyze intelligence. US Cyber Command carries out both offensive and defensive operations and monitors the networks of the Department of Defense.