Bill Pulte: ‘Deep state firings have begun’: Trump’s intelligence chief purges Gabbard loyalists in first major shakeup
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte fired six political appointees appointed by former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and relieved dozens of career intelligence officials, according to four people familiar with the matter.Sources told CNN that the 45 career officers are on joint assignments with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), meaning they work for the agency but are technically employed by other intelligence agencies and sent back to their respective headquarters. The National Counterterrorism Center, a component of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, had been expected to be Pulte’s main target, but it was not affected by the cuts, a person familiar with the matter said.“Today, I am with the National Counterterrorism Center team who, under President Trump’s leadership, have done an incredible job protecting our country,” Pulte said Tuesday night. “The room was filled with true professionals and American patriots. It was an honor to work with them.”Another person familiar with the matter said that as many as two dozen more employees may be laid off in the coming weeks, but the layoffs are unlikely to exceed that number. Pulte has been consulting with career intelligence officials about the layoffs, the source said.The removals are the first major step in Pulte’s authorization of deep cuts to the spy office, which has been streamlined under Gabbard. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the policy maker and coordinator for 18 agencies across the U.S. intelligence community, has been targeted by some on the “MAGA” right, who believe it is comprised of a “deep state” bent on undermining the president.Trump appointed Pulte to the acting role and will be tasked with “immediately executing necessary office layoffs,” Trump wrote in a post on The Truth Society. “I have appointed William Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence, who will take over on June 19, and have asked him to immediately carry out the necessary streamlining of his office and return staff to their home agencies,” Trump wrote.
Pulte’s attack begins
Pulte, who had no national security experience and no previous security clearance, showed up at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence a day early to request a list of all employees in the office so that they could be evaluated for firing, according to two people familiar with the matter. The move caught employees off guard, including outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard, who was given only a brief reminder about the visit.In his only briefing before taking over the office of the director of national intelligence, Pulte set off alarm bells among intelligence officials when he asked staff if the president’s daily briefing, a highly classified set of intelligence on key national security issues, could be brought to his home, according to a source. The source also said Pulte asked about his security clearance level and whether he had access to government aircraft.
Congress’s reaction
Top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committees warned that massive cuts could jeopardize U.S. national security. In a letter sent to Pulte on Monday, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., wrote: “We are concerned by reports that you intend to fire or furlough hundreds of officials in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as soon as this week.”“While there is room to consider responsible reductions in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s workforce, any large-scale layoffs would come on the heels of significant layoffs in 2025 and risk jeopardizing the mission of an organization that was expressly created after 9/11 to prevent any such terrorist attacks in the future,” the lawmakers wrote.“Given your inexperience in the intelligence community, it is difficult to imagine that you developed a fully informed view in such a short period of time on how to reduce the size of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence without posing risks to national security,” they added. “Making significant structural changes to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including troop reductions, would not be an appropriate course of action for anyone in a position to act, let alone taking action without consultation with Congress, and you should avoid doing so.”However, some of those concerns have been alleviated, according to two sources familiar with closed-door discussions with Pulte on Capitol Hill. “Senators were certainly surprised by Pulte’s choice,” said one Republican Senate staffer. “But since Trump announced his appointment, Pulte has developed a detailed strategic plan to implement Trump’s reform agenda in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which he is working closely with (the Senate Intelligence Committee) and is executing well. Republican senators were impressed. Don’t be surprised if he stays in there for a while”.
What’s next for Pulte?
Sources previously told CNN that Pulte was considering cutting hundreds of jobs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. All offices have been asked to provide a list of personnel by Monday, according to two people familiar with the matter. Pulte said on X that he spent time with the National Counterterrorism Center team, calling them “true professionals and American patriots.” NCTC was not affected by the cuts.Trump said Pulte would continue to serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency while serving as acting director of national intelligence, a move that left many intelligence professionals questioning the arrangement. Trump also said he wants Pulte to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.A source close to Pulte previously told CNN: “This is not something to overthink — President Trump wants someone in this position who is a true loyalist who will do what he wants him to do. That’s who Bill is.”
