A White House staffer lost his job—and his social media credibility—after being outed as the author of the Twitter account @natsecwonk, a parody account that sniped at the foreign policy community with sometimes startling accuracy about the Obama administration. Jofi Joseph, who worked on nuclear non-proliferation at the National Security Council, was fired last week after two years of snarky and insulting tweets often directed at his bosses, The Daily Beast reported.
As @natsecwonk, the 40-year-old Joseph took shots at senior White House and State Department officials. “More people should be asking why John Kerry installed two former aides, both with ZERO foreign policy experience, into top posts at State,” he wrote in July.
“Hey @nancypelosi — tonight may not have been the best timing to send out a fundraising email. ‘As of 7 PM,'” he tweeted on August 31, the same day President Obama said he would ask Congress for approval of an airstrike against Syria.
Joseph was bipartisan in his 140-character insults, though. The Washington Post’s conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin was a frequent target. One of @natsecwonk’s last tweets, sent 13 days ago, went after former George W. Bush administration press secretary Ari Fleischer. The account has since been shut down, though some of its tweets are still viewable on the Twitter-archiving website Favstar.
“What started out as an intended parody account of DC culture developed over time into a series of inappropriate and mean-spirited comments,” Joseph told Politico in a statement. Before going to the White House, Joseph worked for Senators Bob Casey and Joe Biden.
The @natsecwonk account had about 1,400 followers—not a huge audience, though it did have many fans among foreign policy journalists. It was one of many accounts parodying generic Washington jobs, such as @DCJourno, @SrWHOfficial, and @HillStaffer. They’re not always funny, but their authors haven’t been exposed.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
National Security Council Staffer Fired for Twitter Parody
Jofi Joseph was fired after being discovered as the author of a Twitter account that slung insults at senior administration officials.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Rock Creek Isn’t Safe to Swim In. RFK Jr. Did It Anyway.
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2025
Jeanine Pirro: 5 Things to Know About the Fox News Host Trump Picked to Be DC’s Top Prosecutor
The Devastating Story of Washington’s Peeping-Tom Rabbi
Trump Fires Librarian of Congress, Fox News Host to Be Next Top DC Prosecutor, Possibly Rabid Actual Fox Terrorizes Arlington
Washingtonian Magazine
May Issue: 52 Perfect Saturdays
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
DC Might Be Getting a Watergate Museum
DC-Area Universities Are Offering Trump Classes This Fall
Viral DC-Area Food Truck Flavor Hive Has It in the Bag
Slugging Makes a Comeback for DC Area Commuters
More from News & Politics
Ed Martin Asks Judge to Investigate Lawyer Investigating Him, RFK Jr. Couldn’t Identify Office Named for His Aunt, and We Found Some Terrific Dominican Food
Federal Agents Arrest 189 in DC Immigration Crackdown
Five New Galleries Are Opening at DC’s National Air and Space Museum in July
DOGE’s Geniuses Are Bad at Math, Ed Martin’s New Job Is to “Shame” People, and the Commanders Will Play in Spain
A New Book About Joe Biden Has Washington Chattering, the Library Wars Continue, and the Wizards Lost Out in the Draft
Meet the Duck Whisperer of DC
Rock Creek Isn’t Safe to Swim In. RFK Jr. Did It Anyway.
Humorless Scolds Fret About Trump’s Free Plane From Qatar, RFK Jr. Swam in Rock Creek, and We’ve Got 20 New Restaurants for You to Get Excited About