WASHINGTON — Acting U.S. Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte has begun efforts to dismiss hundreds of employees from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), according to media reports and statements from President Donald Trump, marking a significant escalation in the administration’s push to shrink the nation’s intelligence bureaucracy.
CNN reported on Friday that Pulte, who assumed the role this week, sought personnel records and began reviewing staffing levels as part of a plan that could result in the dismissal of hundreds of ODNI employees. The report cited people familiar with the matter. Reuters was unable to independently verify the full scope of the proposed reductions.
The move follows weeks of public statements by Trump calling for substantial cuts at the intelligence office. In interviews earlier this month, Trump said he had directed Pulte to begin reducing the size of the agency and return some personnel to their home intelligence organizations. The ODNI coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies and units across the U.S. government.
“I’d like to see it smaller,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. “I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” according to Reuters reporting.
Pulte, a former housing regulator and Trump ally, took over the position after the departure of former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. His appointment drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans because he does not have a background in intelligence or national security.
Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said lawmakers would closely scrutinize decisions involving staffing and intelligence oversight, according to CNN. Democratic leaders have argued that abrupt personnel reductions could affect the office’s ability to coordinate intelligence operations.
The administration has maintained that the restructuring is intended to streamline government operations. Trump previously stated that the ODNI had become too large and that downsizing was needed as part of a broader effort to reduce the federal workforce.
The ODNI was established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to improve coordination among U.S. intelligence agencies. Over time, the office expanded to oversee intelligence integration, budgeting and strategic planning across the intelligence community.
As of Friday, no official figure had been released for the number of employees who could be affected. Details of the proposed reductions, including timing and potential legal or administrative challenges, remain unclear.
