Trump Strips US Govt of Expertise at a High-Stakes Moment

He is relying mostly on himself and a few close allies as he tries to broker an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

- Luke Broadwater and Julian E. Barnes

WASHINGTON — For decades, American presidents have relied on the expertise of foreign policy professionals to help guide them through tricky negotiations in high-stakes conflicts around the globe.

President Donald Trump has taken a different approach towards such experts: He has fired them.

Now, as Mr. Trump tries to navigate perhaps the trickiest negotiation of his presidency — ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine — he is doing so after having stripped away much of the infrastructure designed to inform him about Russian President Vladimir Putin and to keep the U.S. from being outmaneuvered or even duped.

"They're flying blind without the expertise," said Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas, executive director of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University.

She said the kinds of people who had been fired "have seen all the intelligence relating to Vladimir Putin's intentions. They have spies on the ground. They know all kinds of information that's gained through technical means."

Mr. Trump has gutted the National Security Council (NSC), the collection of foreign policy analysts who have helped guide U.S. foreign policy for decades, cutting the staff by more than half.

He has purged experts from the intelligence agencies because of tangential connections to a nearly decade-old investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Mr. Trump has made it clear he believes that his personal connection with Mr. Putin can help him get a peace deal on Ukraine, not being surrounded by a coterie of experts whom he sees as part of a "deep state" out to thwart his agenda.

"I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand, as crazy as it sounds," Mr. Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron on Aug. 18, in a moment caught on a hot mic.