Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte said another round of personnel cuts began Friday as the administration continues reshaping the nation’s intelligence leadership and operations.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte announced Friday that his office has begun a third round of personnel reductions targeting employees deemed redundant or unnecessary to the agency’s core responsibilities.
Pulte described the latest action as part of an effort to streamline the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and improve its adherence to federal law and its statutory mission.
“U.S. National Intelligence is operating more efficiently and effectively than ever before, and today, we started a third round of reducing redundant, or non-critical, personnel,” Pulte said in a public statement. “DNI’s future is exceptionally bright, and will be focused on following the law and the statute.”
The announcement marks the latest stage of a broader personnel overhaul led by Pulte since he assumed the acting intelligence post. More than 50 career intelligence officials were dismissed during the previous month, according to the information provided.
“The Deep State firings have begun,” a source told CNN following those dismissals.
Pulte carried out another group of terminations immediately before the Fourth of July, extending the administration’s effort to remove intelligence personnel it considers unnecessary, resistant to its policies or associated with what its supporters describe as the “Deep State.”
The latest reductions are being presented not only as a personnel change but also as an institutional restructuring of the intelligence community. Pulte said employees classified as redundant or non-critical would be removed as the office concentrates its resources on duties expressly assigned by law.
President Donald Trump has also directed Pulte to pursue a sweeping release of classified government material. In addition to supporting the staff reductions, Trump has said he wants Pulte to declassify “everything.”
The continued personnel changes are taking place while the administration prepares to install a permanent director of national intelligence.
Trump’s nominee for the position, Jay Clayton, is expected to appear before a Senate committee next week for his confirmation hearing. Clayton must receive Senate approval before he can permanently assume leadership of the intelligence community.
The president had previously held back Clayton’s nomination by delaying both Senate proceedings and approval related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act because the SAVE America Act had not passed.
Until the confirmation process is completed, Pulte remains responsible for directing the intelligence office and implementing the administration’s reorganization agenda.
His Friday announcement signaled that the personnel review remains active and that further changes may continue as officials evaluate which positions are considered essential to the agency’s legal and operational responsibilities.
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