U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Chris Coons (D-DE) are voicing their concerns over the recent firing of the director of the National Security Agency (NSA), and the reassignment of the agency’s deputy director.
In a letter to President Donald Trump, the senators led their Democrat counterparts on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense in questioning whether the firing of Haugh, who also serves as the Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), put the nation’s security at risk.
“These actions severely compromise our ability to keep Americans safe. As you are well aware, our nation currently faces serious cyber threats from foreign adversaries, such as from China’s Salt Typhoon, with near-daily attacks against our critical infrastructure,” the senators wrote. “In addition, our nation’s military is engaged in ongoing operations against multiple threats, from the Houthis in Yemen to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Given the dangers facing the United States, it is inexplicable that the Administration would remove the senior leaders of NSA/CYBERCOM without cause or warning, and risk disrupting critical ongoing intelligence operations.”
Additionally, the senators said the move would impact the dual-hat arrangement where one officer leads both the NSA and CYBERCOM.
“Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequence for our national security,” the senators wrote. “As Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis has repeatedly made clear in the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, and 2020, clear criteria must be met before any termination can be considered and both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs must together certify that separation will not ‘pose risks to the military effectiveness of the United States Cyber Command that are unacceptable to the national security interests of the United States.’”
The letter asks the administration to provide written justification for why Haugh and Noble were removed from their positions and asked for a Congressional briefing on any additional actions the administration plans to take regarding the NSA and CYBERCOM.