At the start of 2020, Trump downsized the National Security Council by about a third. The NSC advises the President on threats, from international adversaries to terrorism to pandemics.

Proponents asserted that the NSC had suffered from bloat over multiple administrations, and that a leaner organization would be more effective. This was the reasoning behind the 2018 dismantling and reorganization of the Obama-era pandemic task force. Critics alleged that the downsizing was a political purge, and actively made the nation less safe, particularly amid escalating tensions following a drone strike on a senior Iranian official and the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

The Atlantic – Enacting Trump’s Revenge Campaign
NPR – Trump Administration Has Been Downsizing The National Security Council
LA Times – White House quietly trims dozens of national security experts
NBC News – Trump cuts to national security staff may hurt coronavirus response, former officials say