White House advisers have kept Laura Loomer at bay for months. Then, Trump invited her in

President Donald Trump arranged for far-right activist Laura Loomer to join him in the Oval Office this week for an extraordinary meeting that preceded a shake-up of his national security leadership, two sources familiar with their meeting told CNN.

President Donald Trump arranged for far-right activist Laura Loomer to join him in the Oval Office this week for an extraordinary meeting that preceded a shake-up of his national security leadership, two sources familiar with their meeting told CNN. Their sit-down came after Loomer reached Trump by phone, the sources told CNN. As a result of their call, Trump instructed staff to invite her to the White House, the sources added. Within 24 hours of their meeting, the administration had fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ powerful cyber intelligence bureau, as well as staff members on the National Security Council. Loomer had advocated for their dismissal during her conversation with Trump, CNN previously reported. “This is called vetting,” Loomer wrote on X early Friday, adding of the NSA leaders: “Their firings are a blessing for the American people.” The stunning series of events recalled Trump’s first term, when informal advisers, fringe figures and longtime associates often bypassed traditional channels to gain direct access to the Oval Office. His aides have insisted the president’s second term would be marked by discipline and structure. Loomer’s previous inflammatory rhetoric has drawn rebukes from Republican leaders, and her access to then-candidate Trump was limited last fall after her appearances on the campaign trail alongside him prompted internal tensions and public criticism. Now, by securing a White House visit just 72 days into Trump’s second term, Loomer has once again cast a spotlight on the external sources shaping the president’s decision-making in what was supposed to be a closely guarded Oval Office.