Erin Banco, Karen Freifeld and Gram Slattery

April 3 (Reuters) – Several high-ranking White House National Security Council officials were fired on Thursday morning, according to three people familiar with the matter, in what appears to be the first significant purge of Donald Trump’s second presidency.

It’s not clear exactly why the officials were let go or if their firing is permanent. But two of the sources said several were told there were issues with their vetting their background.

Among the several senior NSC officials who were fired are David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security, and Brian Walsh, a senior director overseeing intelligence matters, the sources told Reuters.

More: ‘A bad signal’: Trump team’s shifting SignalGate explanation

The National Security Council declined to comment.

The firings came a day after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who privately called on the president to fire some NSC staffers. The New York Times was the first to report their meeting, while Axios first reported on the NSC firings on Thursday.

The National Security Council has been dogged by negative headlines since March, when National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added a journalist to a Signal chat in which top Trump officials discussed an imminent bombing campaign in Yemen.