Bill Pulte, Trump's newly installed acting director of national intelligence, began dismissing staff members from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday, marking the start of what sources describe as a sweeping reorganization of the nation's top spy agency.
Pulte, who until recently led the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has no background in national security, wasted little time executing his mandate. Trump announced that Pulte had been tasked with "immediate and needed downsizing" and to revert staff to their home agencies. Sources confirmed to NBC News that the firings are underway, with CNN first reporting the dismissals.
The scope of the cuts extends beyond the ODNI itself. A source told NBC News that Pulte ordered staff members to identify 400 employees for termination from the National Counterterrorism Center, the post-9/11 office responsible for tracking terrorist threats and coordinating intelligence across federal agencies. The instruction came Thursday, before Pulte officially assumed the role Friday, succeeding outgoing Director Tulsi Gabbard.
The potential reduction at the counterterrorism center has alarmed former intelligence officials, who say such significant cuts could cripple the government's ability to detect and stop terrorist plots. The center was established after the Sept. 11 attacks to consolidate threat monitoring and pool information from across the federal government.
Congress moved quickly to challenge the purge. Top Democrats on the intelligence committees, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, sent a letter to Pulte on Monday expressing alarm at "reports that you intend to fire or place on leave hundreds of Office of the Director of National Intelligence officers as soon as this week." They wrote that making "significant structural changes" to ODNI, including workforce reductions, "is not an appropriate course of action for anyone in an acting capacity, let alone without consultation with Congress."
Pulte's appointment itself drew bipartisan skepticism when Trump announced it this month. His lack of any national security credentials raised immediate questions about his fitness for the role overseeing all U.S. intelligence operations.
The leadership shuffle at ODNI reflects broader turbulence in Trump's intelligence team. Trump indicated Pulte would serve only temporarily and announced plans to nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, for the permanent post. But hours before Clayton's scheduled Senate confirmation hearing, Trump reversed course, asking Senate Republicans to delay action on the nomination until a replacement U.S. attorney is confirmed.
The ODNI did not respond to requests for comment about the firings.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "An intelligence agency is not a federal housing agency, and gutting 400 positions at the counterterrorism center on an acting director's say-so, without congressional input, is reckless regardless of your political stripes."
Comments