Trump cut the National Security Council staff from about 400 to roughly 125-130, a dramatic reduction that sets the structure back 30-40 years and has caused the NSC coordination process to break down, allowing departments to act independently—exemplified by the Department of Defense halting weapons and ammunition to Ukraine without the president knowing.

causalpending

Speaker

John Bolton

Evidence Quote

the whole NSC process has broken down that there's not adequate coordination among the different departments

Source

John Bolton Warns: The System Is Breaking Down. The World’s Out of Control And No One's in ChargeDecoding Geopolitics Podcast with Dominik Presl
Created: 6/18/2026, 1:57:40 PM

My Notes

Loading notes...