The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) began implementing large-scale staff reductions on Monday, according to sources cited by CNN and ABC News. The cuts, ordered by acting director William Pulte, are expected to eliminate hundreds of positions, with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center identified as the units likely to face the deepest reductions. The move follows a directive from President Donald Trump, who stated on his Truth Social platform that he had asked Pulte to “execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office” and return personnel to their home agencies.

Viewed from Washington, the White House has defended the firings as a necessary streamlining of a bureaucracy that Trump described as “way too high for way too long.” In contrast, Democratic members of the Senate and House intelligence committees, Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes, sent a formal letter to Pulte warning that mass dismissals risk undermining the ODNI’s core mission. They noted that the office was explicitly created after the 11 September 2001 attacks to prevent future terrorist strikes, and argued that any significant restructuring should not be carried out by an acting official without congressional consultation. The lawmakers also pointed to substantial workforce reductions already implemented in 2025, when the ODNI shed over 500 employees—a 30 percent cut—under former director Tulsi Gabbard.

The practical implications extend beyond headcount. The NCTC, which coordinates threat assessments across federal agencies, was established to close intelligence gaps exposed by the 9/11 attacks. Former intelligence officials, cited in US media reports, have cautioned that deep cuts to its staff could impair the government’s ability to detect and disrupt terrorist plots. The firings also coincide with a lapse in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a warrantless surveillance authority, which expired after Pulte’s appointment created a legal vacuum. Broader federal workforce data from the Government Accountability Office indicates that approximately 256,000 employees—11 percent of the civilian federal workforce—were dismissed in 2025, a context that frames the ODNI reductions as part of a wider executive branch contraction.

Pulte assumed the acting role on 20 June, a day earlier than scheduled, and immediately requested ranked personnel lists from all ODNI components, a step that surprised outgoing director Gabbard, who is stepping down on 30 June to care for her husband after a rare bone cancer diagnosis. Pulte’s previous post was director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; he has no background in intelligence or national security. President Trump had initially nominated Jay Clayton, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as permanent DNI, but abruptly withdrew the nomination last week, leaving Pulte in place indefinitely. The confirmation process for a permanent director remains stalled, and the firings are proceeding without a confirmed Senate-approved leader at the helm of the 18-agency intelligence community.