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Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) shredded the Trump administration on Friday after it withdrew its nominee for deputy director of the National Security Agency.
President Donald Trump nominated Joe Francescon to the position in August, prompting conspiracist theorist and informal White House adviser Laura Loomer to condemn the nominee. Loomer cited Federal Election Commission records showing that Francescon, who served on the National Security Council in the first Trump administration, donated $500 to Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado in 2023.
“FEC records reveal that Francescon donated to an anti-Trump Democrat Congressman named @RepJasonCrow,” she tweeted in August. “During his first term in Congress, Crow was an impeachment manager for President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial.”
Fast-forward to Friday morning, and the White House pulled Francescon’s nomination.
Bacon took to X, where he laid into the administration for its “gross negligence” in failing to fill top national security positions, as well as Loomer’s unofficial role:
The White House is withdrawing @JoeFrancescon as its nominee to be the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Deputy Director, meanwhile the acting Deputy Director will retire at the end of the month. This means the top two positions at NSA and the four-star commander at Cyber Command will remain vacant for 8 months and counting. All because of infighting in the White House and the involvement of whacky Laura Loomer in hiring. We are at Cyber War everyday and the inability to get leaders in place is gross negligence.
Loomber replied to Bacon and took credit.
“SCALP,” she wrote. “What makes someone think they can be the Deputy NSA @NSAGov Director when they donated to Democrats who oversaw the impeachment of President Trump? Why would we want a Deputy NSA Director who donated to one of the Seditious 6?”
Fox Chief National Security correspondent Jennifer Griffin also replied to Bacon’s post, calling the withdrawal “shocking.”
In July, Loomer boasted about her success in torpedoing several Trump nominees, including a top nominee at Customs and Border Patrol and another nominee at the NSA.
