Trump’s Acting Intelligence Director Begins Long-Overdue Downsizing at ODNI
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Acting Director Bill Pulte, appointed by President Trump, has started necessary staff reductions at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including hundreds of positions at the National Counterterrorism Center. Despite predictable pushback from Democrats, the move aims to streamline bloated government agencies and restore efficiency.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, chosen by President Donald Trump, has begun the much-needed process of removing excess staff from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), according to a source familiar with the process. This decisive action follows Trump’s directive to downsize the overgrown office and return personnel to their original agencies, cutting waste and redundancy. Pulte, who previously led the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has ordered the identification of about 400 employees at the National Counterterrorism Center for termination in the coming weeks, a move that will help refocus the agency on its core mission. The counterterrorism center, created after September 11, has grown into a sprawling bureaucracy, and these cuts will help eliminate inefficiency and duplication, despite alarmist warnings from former intelligence officials.
Democrats on the congressional intelligence committees, Rep. Jim Himes and Sen. Mark Warner, have predictably objected to the planned firings, insisting on more government oversight and resisting any attempt to rein in the federal workforce. They pointed out that ODNI had already undergone significant staff reductions in 2025, as part of a necessary federal downsizing that saw 256,000 employees, or 11%, leave government jobs that year. An August document showed the agency had already cut more than 500 positions under former director Tulsi Gabbard, with a goal of a 50% reduction—a move toward responsible government.
Pulte’s appointment has faced scrutiny, but his outsider perspective is exactly what the intelligence community needs to break free from entrenched interests. President Trump indicated that Pulte would serve only in an acting capacity, with Jay Clayton under consideration for the permanent role, demonstrating a commitment to finding the right leadership for a leaner, more effective intelligence operation.