Trump’s team questions officials about who they voted for

Donald Trump’s new administration officials have begun questioning White House national security officials about their possible loyalty – or disloyalty – to the president-elect, according to a Monday report from the Associated Press.

A U.S. official familiar with the survey said that staffers at the White House National Security Council (NSC) were questioned about who they voted for in the November election, their use of social media and past political donations.

The official added that some staffers – despite being assured they would remain in their roles under the new administration – had begun preparing to leave the White House after the questioning.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to purge the federal government of anyone he and his inner circle consider less than die-hard supporters of his agenda. During his first term, Trump tried to make it easier to fire government employees in the executive branch and promised to put the failed crusade into action after he took office. The administration’s main targets will be so-called “deep state” obstructionists who blocked Trump’s machinations during his first term or criticized him after he left office. One of his main attack dogs is FBI director candidate Kash Patel, who has promised not only to fill his department with Trump loyalists but also to use his powers as a weapon to retaliate against the president-elect’s blacklist. Trump has also tasked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with dismantling the “deep state.”

Earlier this month, Trump’s new national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said he planned to stir up turmoil among the country’s national security workforce.

“Everyone will resign on January 20th at 12:01 p.m.,” Waltz told the right-wing newspaper Breitbart. “We are currently working on our process to get everyone their approvals and are going through the transition process. Our people know who we want in the agencies, we make those requests, and as far as the detailed work goes, they will all come back.”

“The people we’re bringing in are 100 percent in line with the president’s agenda,” he added. “It will also be up to the heads of cabinet, firstly, I think, to cut down on the bloated bureaucracy and then secondly, to make sure that everything is consistent with the implementation of what the president is collectively striving for.” We will be people at the working level, at the deputy level and bring it together at the Cabinet level and then, when appropriate, involve the president himself.”

Current White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has opposed the blanket layoff of large swaths of NSC staff, many of whom serve in non-political roles. “With everything going on in the world, it’s really important to make sure you have a team that’s up to speed and ready to go on the 20th at 12:01, 12:02, 12: “It’s important to continue playing at 3 a.m.,” he said on Friday.