Trump’s acting chief of national intelligence fires 6 political appointees, removes dozens of career officials, sources say

Key Points:

• Acting DNI Bill Pulte has fired six political appointees from former Director Tulsi Gabbard’s team and sent 45 career intelligence officials on joint duty assignments back to their home agencies, marking the first major cuts under his mandate to downsize the ODNI.
• The National Counterterrorism Center, previously expected to be targeted, remains unaffected, and Pulte has indicated he may make up to two dozen more firings, consulting with career officials to implement reductions.
• Pulte, appointed by Trump despite lacking national security experience, has gained some Republican support on Capitol Hill for his strategic plan to reform and reduce the ODNI bureaucracy, with some senators impressed by his execution.
• Top Democrats in Congress have expressed concern that large-scale cuts could jeopardize national security, warning that the ODNI, created after 9/11 to improve intelligence coordination, has already undergone significant downsizing and remains critical to preventing terrorist attacks.
• The ODNI has struggled with morale and talent retention amid ongoing cuts, with workforce reductions under Gabbard and now Pulte leaving office spaces largely empty and staff feeling demoralized, likened by some to the trauma experienced during the Covid pandemic.