Hello, and welcome back to The Best & The Brightest. It’s foreign policy Thursday and I’m your host, Julia Ioffe. Are you tired of winning yet? Does your neck hurt from the economic whiplash? In tonight’s issue, fresh off her purge of the N.S.C., Laura Loomer is hawking her new political research consultancy, Loomered Strategies. My conversation with her, below the fold. But first…

The Krebs cycle: Last night, President Trump ordered the D.O.J. to investigate Chris Krebs, his former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency whom he fired in 2020 for daring to say that the election had been secure. The executive order stripped him of his security clearance and also took aim at his cybersecurity company, SentinelOne.I asked Eriq Gardner, our in-house legal guru, whether Krebs has any recourse now that the president is not just impugning his character and government service, but also clearly trying to destroy his business. “Unfortunately, Trump has immunity for official acts of office even if they are loathsome acts,” Eriq said. “The best that Krebs can do is probably sue the government for violating his constitutional rights.” The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, last summer, continues to reverberate.
Business casual for me, not for thee: Ever since Volodymyr Zelensky got a, um, dressing-down for not having worn a suit to the White House—first by the president, then by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s boyfriend—it has become a kind of sport to note who does get away with a casual dress code in the Oval. The first and most obvious was t-shirt-and-baseball-cap-attired Elon Musk. Then came Kid Rock, who stood next to Trump at the Resolute Desk wearing a sparkly red number that, while a matching set, was certainly not a suit. The latest is Yair Netanyahu, son of Bibi, who arrived in D.C. with his parents this week and posted a photo of himself in the White House, with J.D. Vance, wearing a t-shirt, sport coat, and jeans. (Sure, there’s a blazer involved, but let’s just say yours truly was once denied entry to the Army and Navy Club for wearing that outfit.)Why the disparate treatment? One could make the argument that it was because Zelensky came to Washington as a supplicant, rather than a historic ally (at least in the eyes of this administration). But as Trump himself pointed out in justifying his since-revised tariff policy, Israel gets $4 billion in U.S. aid annually—which certainly puts them in the supplicant category. Perhaps it’s not about the suit. Perhaps it’s because the MAGA base loves Israel—in part for religious, messianic reasons—and scorns Ukraine, and wardrobe critiques are just another way of humiliating the country and making it grovel.
Theater of operations: Last week, I wrote about the performative nature of SecDef Pete Hegseth’s role as the leader of the Pentagon. Well, turns out all that emoji-worthy stuff discussed in the “Houthis PC small group” chat was theater, too—very expensive theater. According to two reports in the Times, the strikes on the Houthis have been as ineffective as they have been costly. Most of the Houthis’ weaponry is underground in well-fortified silos, and most of what Hegseth et al. are pounding them with is some of the Pentagon’s most expensive, high-precision weaponry. So far, this operation has cost something like $1 billion, and has been eating up so much ordnance that Pentagon contingency planners are nervous about military readiness for any confrontation with China. Mission accomplished, I guess.

Now here’s Leigh Ann with some news on the politics around the Republican budget blueprint…

Leigh Ann Caldwell

How Trump got his budget: If you’re already subscribed to Puck, you’ll know that I wrote on Sunday (and again on Monday) that it was highly unlikely that the House wouldn’t be able to pass the Senate Republican budget. And though it took a day longer than expected, and required public pledges from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson to reduce spending, ultimately all but two Republicans—Reps. Thomas Massie and Victoria Spartz—voted for it.Over the past few days, Trump posted on social media that Republicans needed to stop “grandstanding” and get behind one “big, beautiful bill.” He invited hardliners to the White House. Then, a few hours later, he admonished them at a fundraising dinner that brought in $35 million for their reelection. Johnson huddled with a group of holdouts until late last night, with Trump calling into the meeting, according to Rep. Ralph Norman. Thune also met with members to assure them that the Senate was serious about cutting spending.The dozen or so House holdouts got Johnson to write a wordy, insubstantial, nonbinding memo that included a commitment to “reduce federal spending,” according to a version that I reviewed. The usually cheery Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee sounded less chipper than usual, even if he did vote for it. “If they’re gonna lie to you, they’re gonna lie to you,” he told me, doubtful that leadership will fulfill their promise to reduce spending. It’s sausage-making in the Trump era. We’ve seen this movie several times during Trump’s nearly 80 days back in office. The party has not yet—and may never—break with the president, especially on his singular legislative priority of tax and spending cuts. Now, the House and Senate will proceed with the even harder part: filling in the details.

Fruit of the Loomer

Conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer largely took credit for inciting the purge of Trump’s National Security Council, a demonstration of the “services” she is now selling. Former intelligence officers looking for more to the story of General Timothy Haugh’s firing may be missing the point.

Julia Ioffe

It’s been nearly a week since the Friday night massacre at the National Security Council—which, compared to the market mayhem, felt almost quaint, like an echo from Trump 45. Earlier that day, Laura Loomer, a 31-year-old far-right internet personality, had walked into the West Wing armed with a sheaf of papers, and walked out with a bushel of national security scalps. At least five staffers, whom she alleged were disloyal neocons, were fired from the N.S.C. based on her advice. Hours later, reports emerged that something far more shocking had happened: General Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, was also fired at Loomer’s urging, along with his civilian deputy, Wendy Noble. Haugh, a four-star general, was widely respected in the intelligence community as a deeply competent and apolitical man. Loomer, a school-shooting and 9/11 truther who has described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “pro-white nationalist” (while also identifying as a “feisty Jewess”), has grown especially close to Trump over the past year. She’s traveled with him to multiple campaign events and openly angled for a job in the White House. Haugh and Noble, Loomer wrote on X after the meeting, were fired because they “have been disloyal to President Trump.” She then elaborated with a long and tenuous case for why they deserved to get canned: Haugh had been appointed by Biden and had ties to General Mark Milley (“who was accused of committing treason by President Trump”), and Noble was “handpicked” by former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (who, Loomer said, “falsely accused the Russians of stealing the election for Trump”). Loomer attached her “receipts”: screenshots of articles from the likes of CBS and Politico, as well as a bland press release announcing Haugh and Noble’s appointments. “This,” she said, spiking the football, “is called VETTING.” Conveniently, a week earlier, Loomer had announced the formation of Loomered Strategies, a political firm ready for hire to perform such sophisticated vetting. “At Loomered Strategies, our philosophy is very simple and direct: Information is a weapon. Time to get armed,” the new Loomered Strategies account tweeted on March 24. “Work with us, or your opponent will!” (Loomer uses her surname the way Ashton Kutcher once used the word “punked.” And, as Trump has said, “You don’t want to be Loomered.”) Four days after the N.S.C. purge, the account also tweeted at Texas A.G. Ken Paxton, who had just declared that he was running to unseat Senator John Cornyn. “Hi @KenPaxtonTX,” the firm wrote. “@LoomeredStrat would love to assist you in your Senate race! Loomered Strategies is your go to firm for Executive Level vetting, opposition research and intelligence, rapid response, & your opponent’s worst nightmare!”

“As Stupid as It Looks”

Since last Friday, national security Washington has been trying to make sense of why Haugh got Loomered. The idea that an outsider could waltz into the Oval Office and reshape the N.S.C. in the course of one meeting was shocking enough. But the fact that Loomer had taken out someone of Haugh’s stature seemed inconceivable. There had to be more to the story, many assumed. One former intelligence officer told me he thought Haugh had been let go because he had been too slow to pivot from Russia to China as an intelligence collection priority. Another told me that Haugh was actually fired because his portfolio included countering Russian election interference, an obvious irritant for a president who views the entire issue as a hoax and a smear on his legitimacy. More specifically, a third source wondered whether Haugh’s firing could be attributed to his leadership of the Russia Small Group, a team formed in 2018 by General Paul Nakasone, when he was head of the N.S.A., to identify and deter Russian interference. On the Hill, rumor had it that Haugh was actually fired because he was perceived as “a relative champion of LGBT service members.” “That’s not accurate,” Loomer told me when I asked her about the alternative theories for why Haugh had been axed. “Those accusations are both false. I was very explicit in my tweet about why I thought General Haugh should be fired.” She told me she did not believe that he was capable of being apolitical, because he had been nominated by Biden. In other words, as a top Senate Intelligence aide told me, “there’s no other answer here. It’s as stupid as it looks from the outside.” Loomer is normally based in Florida, but she called me from Beverly Hills, where she had traveled for the deposition of Bill Maher, whom she is suing for defamation after he mused on his HBO show that Loomer and Trump were having a sexual relationship. (She confirmed that they weren’t and aren’t. She has also taken to social media to fundraise her “very expensive” legal costs.) She was very happy, however, to talk about Loomered Strategies, which she said she set up after the election. That cycle, she told me, was marked by her bold and decisive investigations, including one that she says Trump credits with dismantling the Ron DeSantis campaign. Loomer told me her firm offers a comprehensive set of services, more than just political opposition research and vetting: due diligence for business clients, for example, as well as what she calls “matrimonial due diligence” for V.I.P.s who want to make sure they’re not being honey trapped or exploited by a “gold digger.” Its services are available to both Republicans and “moderate Democrats,” like those facing primary challenges from leftists who are “openly communist, openly socialist, or openly Islamist.” Loomer demurred when I asked her how much she charges for her services. “This is top-tier, executive-level vetting and research,” she said. “You have to pay premier pricing for premier research.” Loomer spoke extensively about her team of researchers and how she plans to be “the leading political opposition research firm in America.” There’s been “a lot of interest from prospective political candidates” and “high-level executives” in retaining Loomered Strategies because, she said, “I deliver the receipts.” When I asked her whether she could name any clients, she said, “No, we have very strict confidentiality agreements with all of our clients.” She spoke constantly about the “we” at Loomered Strategies, and our call was set up by somebody who told me to “kindly share your contact details, and we’ll schedule a call with Laura.” But after deflecting on all kinds of organizational questions for half an hour, Loomer eventually acknowledged the truth. “When I say ‘we,’ I’m talking about myself,” she confessed. “I just launched,” she admitted. “We all have goals and aspirations.” Those include teaching Republicans “to use brute force when combating and dismantling their political opposition,” and to “help my clients not just win elections, but win by completely eliminating their political opposition with factual information and receipts.” I asked Loomer how her dreams and aspirations separated her from the Swamp that MAGAworld loathes and wants to destroy. Wasn’t she outlining a plan similar to that of other politicos who came to town on a president’s coattails and cashed in by setting up lucrative political consultancies? How was this different from what Corey Lewandowski did during Trump 45, or the Ricchetti brothers under Biden? “I don’t think we’d become part of the establishment. I want to be feared by the establishment,” Loomer said, sounding like every other D.C. newcomer who pledges to upend the establishment only to become it. Plus, she added, “I don’t live in Washington, D.C.”

That’s all from me, friends. I’m off next week but will see you back here in two weeks. Until then, good night. Tomorrow will be worse. Julia

Join Emmy Award-winning journalist Peter Hamby, along with the team of expert journalists at Puck, as they let you in on the conversations insiders are having across the four corners of power in America: Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood. Presented in partnership with Audacy, new episodes publish daily, Monday through Friday.

Unique and privileged insight into the private conversations taking place inside boardrooms and corner offices up and down Wall Street, relayed by best-selling author, journalist, and former M&A senior banker William D. Cohan.

Bond Vigilantes

WILLIAM D. COHAN

Glossier’s Down Round

RACHEL STRUGATZ

Unliberation Day

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL

Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news. You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with . To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.