President Trump Streamlines bloated National Security Council, Cuts Bureaucratic Waste

In a decisive move to restore efficiency and accountability to the federal government, the Trump administration has significantly reduced the size of the White House National Security Council (NSC), removing dozens of staffers as part of a broader initiative to rein in bureaucratic overreach.

The restructuring, which took place on Friday, included the dismissal of both career officials and political appointees embedded in the NSC. The move was overseen by National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, now one of President Donald Trump’s top advisors shaping U.S. foreign policy.

According to The Washington Post and other outlets, sources familiar with the personnel changes confirmed the cuts but requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the transition.

The administration’s goal is clear: eliminate unnecessary layers of influence from an overgrown national security apparatus that ballooned under previous administrations—particularly during Barack Obama’s tenure, when the NSC swelled to nearly 400 staffers.

“Some have argued that the NSC had become bloated under previous administrations, peaking with around 400 staffers during the presidency of Barack Obama, allowing the White House to micromanage policy decisions,” reported The Washington Post.

After the recent reductions, the NSC will return to approximately the same size it was during the end of President Trump’s first term. A source told NPR that this recalibration is meant to restore focus and agility to an advisory body that had drifted from its original purpose.

The NSC has traditionally drawn staffers from institutions like the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community, acting as the president’s nerve center for national security decisions. But under President Trump’s leadership, that dynamic has shifted toward a more direct and accountable model. Rather than relying on entrenched bureaucrats, Trump has increasingly leaned on trusted members of his Cabinet—such as Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—for critical input on global affairs.

This is not the first time President Trump has sought to streamline the NSC. During his first term, then-National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien led a similar effort to curb the agency’s size and influence. O’Brien, now chairman of the national security consultancy American Global Strategies, has continued to advocate for a leaner NSC in public commentary.

Writing in The Washington Times, O’Brien and his colleague Alexander Gray argued that a more efficient structure—modeled after President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s NSC of just 60 staffers—would serve the country better.

“We believe the NSC policy staff could be streamlined to 60 people, the same number of NSC staffers that President Dwight D. Eisenhower employed,” O’Brien wrote.

According to sources cited by NPR, O’Brien’s critique of the NSC’s size and the persistence of Obama-era holdovers helped catalyze this new round of dismissals. Many of these officials, still embedded deep within the national security bureaucracy, were seen as attempting to subvert the president’s foreign policy agenda.

In parallel with the NSC shakeup, the Justice Department has begun reorganizing its legal ranks to ensure alignment with the administration’s constitutional priorities. Dozens of political appointees are replacing entrenched career attorneys who were seen as roadblocks to President Trump’s policy reforms.

“The new hires are already appearing on behalf of the government to defend Trump’s efforts to remake immigration policy and the federal workforce and to expand the powers of the presidency,” The Washington Post reported. “They sometimes sit in front of judges alone, without the cadre of veteran attorneys who typically show up for big cases.”

This reorganization sends a clear message: the President of the United States has the constitutional authority to shape his administration and execute the policies he was elected to deliver.

As always, the left-wing media attempts to portray these long-overdue bureaucratic reductions as controversial. But every president staffs his administration with individuals aligned to his goals. President Trump is no exception—he’s simply more transparent and decisive in doing so.

With Marco Rubio and a refreshed team now steering U.S. national security strategy, the Trump administration is once again proving its commitment to strong leadership, streamlined governance, and an America First approach to foreign policy.