Elon Musk made an unannounced visit to the National Security Agency on Wednesday, meeting with its chief, Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, just days after calling for an overhaul of the country’s top cyberespionage agency.
The NSA, known as the “puzzle palace” for its codebreaking operations, is one of the nation’s most critical intelligence-gathering agencies, managing extensive surveillance operations and advanced cybersecurity initiatives.
The visit, Musk’s first publicly confirmed meeting with an intelligence agency since launching the Trump administration’s push to shrink the federal workforce, included a tour of the NSA’s Remote Operations Center.
An NSA spokesperson said the agency and U.S. Cyber Command remain focused on priorities set by the president, defense secretary, and director of national intelligence, adding that “meetings with key advisors ensure we are aligned.”
To comply with administration orders to cut its workforce, the NSA is exploring early retirement and buyout options, a source said. Other intelligence agencies are also adjusting, with the CIA reportedly firing some employees hired in the past two years.
