Episode
The Loss of National Security Expertise
- Podcast
- The Diplomacy Podcast
- Published
- Jul 9, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 1448
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Summary
What do the collapse of U.S. policymaking and gutting the NSC mean for Americans' safety? The Trump White House has slashed the staff of the National Security Council, whose role is to coordinate policymaking, by more than half. Deliberation of policy options barely exists, and it’s not clear who — if anyone — advises the president. On this episode of "The Diplomacy Podcast," we discuss the recent NSC purge and its implications for Americans’ safety and security, with Ambassador Cindy Courville, a former NSC senior director for African affairs. She was also the first U.S. ambassador to the African Union. She offers insight into how the "interagency process," which is essential in a democracy but has been largely abandoned, helped presidents make difficult and highly consequential decisions for decades. Courville, who worked in the George W. Bush White House as a civil servant detailed from the Defense Intelligence Agency, also talks about what the loss of significant national security expertise means in practice. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com