Spy Agencies Have Exploded In Size. Trump’s Intel Chiefs Are The First To Downsize.
Since the FBI’s founding at the turn of the century, the intelligence community has grown from a domestic law enforcement operation to a sprawling $115 billion surveillance apparatus spanning 18 separate agencies…
Since the FBI’s founding at the turn of the century, the intelligence community has grown from a domestic law enforcement operation to a sprawling $115 billion surveillance apparatus spanning 18 separate agencies.
Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard did something uncommon in Washington: Taking on the swamp by cutting her own staff by 40% and redirecting $1 billion.
An Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) official told the Daily Caller News Foundation that efficiency efforts will continue as they transition to incoming successor Bill Pulte, whom Trump described as ready to oversee more terminations in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Friday.
“We look forward to working with Mr. Pulte and President Trump to continue that work and advance further initiatives aimed at rooting out deep state bad actors and securing saving for the American taxpayer,” an ODNI official told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Gabbard signaled when first confirmed to be Trump’s intelligence chief in February 2025 that she was willing to be the last director of national intelligence if it was determined that ODNI was unnecessary, the official said. Gabbard announced she would leave the post on May 22, citing family obligations following her husband’s diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer. Pulte will assume the role in an acting capacity on June 30.
Trump wants incoming Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to slash the size of the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy further, according to the WSJ