The White House has fired several top National Security Council officials as internal fights among factions of the Trump team escalate, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The firings came a day after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who has spread conspiracy theories including about the origins of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, reportedly met with President Donald Trump to question the loyalty of some NSC officials.

POLITICO could not independently confirm whether the firings came as a direct result of Loomer meeting with the president or the fallout from the revelations that top officials discussed U.S. military operations in an NSC Signal group chat that accidentally included a journalist.

When asked about the terminations, NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes said the “NSC doesn’t comment on personnel matters.”

National security adviser Mike Waltz, under pressure over the “Signalgate” scandal, briefly attended Trump’s meeting with Loomer to defend his team, according to The New York Times, which previously reported the meeting. Axios previously reported on the NSC firings.

But the firings also speak to ongoing fights between the head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Sergio Gor, a former spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Waltz’s team over a number of prospective administration hires that the powerful vetting organization has deemed to be out of step with Trump’s foreign policy positions. The NSC did not respond to a request for additional comment on this matter.

The frustrations — which have not been previously reported in this detail — date back to the beginning of Trump’s transition in November. One person familiar with internal NSC hiring decisions said Gor has blocked Waltz’s picks for key NSC appointments despite those people being in line with Waltz and the president’s hawkish views on adversaries like China and Iran.

“It’s astounding to me that Waltz has the trust of the president on national security issues but not the trust to staff his own team,” this person said. Like others, the person was granted anonymity to discuss internal White House dynamics candidly.

Among the officials being fired, according to two people familiar with the matter, are Thomas Boodry, a senior NSC official overseeing legislative affairs who worked for Waltz when he was in Congress; David Feith, an official overseeing technology and national security; and Brian Walsh, an NSC official working on intelligence issues who previously worked for Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his time in the Senate.

There are worries inside the White House that the round of firings of new NSC hands will have a chilling effect on Waltz’s ability to staff up the NSC with experienced and capable national security officials — and ultimately handicap Trump’s foreign policy agenda from its nerve center in the White House, according to the three people familiar with the matter.

“All these jobs have a real learning curve and pushing a reset will set the Trump team back by months,” argued one former Biden national security council official, who was granted anonymity as they did not want to weigh in on Trump personnel decisions publicly.

The firings came a week after a top Republican lawmaker rallied to defend deputy national security adviser Alex Wong in the face of far-right attacks from Loomer and others accusing him and his wife — without evidence — of being agents of the Chinese government working to undermine the Trump administration.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for whom Wong previously worked, said in an X post that Wong and his wife, Candice Chiu Wong, are “complete and total patriots, 100% MAGA Warriors who always put America First.” Cotton added that “America is safer and better off with Alex in the White House.”

Loomer did not respond to a request for comment, but appeared to confirm the meeting in a post on X on Thursday. She wrote: “I woke up this morning to learn that there are still people in and around the West Wing who are LEAKING to the hostile, left-wing media about President Trump’s *confidential* and *private* meetings in the Oval Office.” She added: “I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security.”

Dasha Burns contributed to this report.