Upcoming changes at CIA shine a spotlight on the spy agency's director John Ratcliffe

CNN

08-05-2025

As one of the last federal agencies to face major changes in President Donald Trump's norm-bending second term, the CIA is bracing for significant cuts and a reorganization that seeks to elevate covert operations by hiring more officers to go in the field and fewer analysts to sit behind computer screens.
The coming changes have sharpened the focus on CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who so far has walked a fine line between maintaining favor with the White House and building trust with career rank-and-file officers at the storied spy agency that Trump views as a key part of the so-called 'Deep State.'
Up to now, Ratcliffe appears to have insulated the CIA from the kind of political meddling by the White House that many career officials have feared would come with a second Trump administration.
Ratcliffe and his deputy Michael Ellis 'may have come to the conclusion that these people are professionals, there really is no deep state out here,' said one former senior intelligence official. 'But now you are pushing against the White House that believes there is.'
Several intelligence officials said Ratcliffe seems to spend most of his time across the river at the White House – leaving some in the workforce with the impression he is very 'hands-off,' one US official said. Others said it's not clear to the rank-and-file who is really running the agency, with another former official describing the CIA as 'rudderless' – deepening concerns among some career professionals that the uncertainty will lead to a brain drain as talented officers retire or take Trump's buyout offer.
Overall, the sentiment toward Ratcliffe among career officials within CIA headquarters at Langley is lukewarm, multiple current and former US officials told CNN, with one official describing him as 'the least bad option' to serve as Trump's CIA director.
'Being at the White House all the time is a good thing,' a person close to Trump told CNN. 'It would be far more concerning if Ratcliffe was never meeting with the president. It shows he still values him.'
So far, Ratcliffe has not made the kind of broad cuts that the administration has demanded of other agencies, despite a clear desire by Trump and his allies to reshape the spy agency.
Ratcliffe's relationship with the White House has allowed him the latitude to manage the agency on his own timeline, sources close to the president say. Some career officials see Ratcliffe as quietly acting as a kind of buffer between the White House and the agency.
'As he has learned more about our people and capabilities I think he is wanting to support us, but most of his time is spent downtown and Cabinet focused,' said another US official, adding that 'running the organization is really falling more on' Ratcliffe's deputy, Ellis.
'Director Ratcliffe has made it clear that CIA will pursue President Trump's national security priorities with laser-like focus,' CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons said in a statement to CNN. 'The Agency is determined to provide the President with an unparalleled advantage and, under Director Ratcliffe, it is aggressively doing just that. Any insinuation to the contrary is false and completely baseless.'
Ratcliffe, a former Republican Texas congressman, has taken a deliberately under-the-radar approach during his first few months on the job, meeting with Trump behind closed doors at the White House and making selective media appearances.
He has also played a key role in helping the administration navigate some of its most pressing foreign policy challenges.
In April, Trump sent Ratcliffe to Israel for high-level discussions about the administration's ongoing pursuit of a deal with Iran to surrender its entire nuclear program, according to two sources familiar with the trip. Earlier in Trump's second term, Ratcliffe also quietly helped to secure the release of multiple Americans held in Russia. But, unlike special envoy Steve Witkoff who was credited for the release, Ratcliffe's involvement in those talks was not widely publicized.
Ratcliffe's approach to his job stands in stark contrast to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has issued agency-wide directives via social media posts on X and in public pronouncements on Fox News – a difference in style that has not gone unnoticed by career intelligence officials.
Ratcliffe has also not made the kind of high-profile blunders that led to the dismissal of former national security advisor Mike Waltz, who added a journalist to a sensitive Signal chat about war planning, and additional scrutiny of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose classified texts to the chat churned headlines for days. However, Ratcliffe's presence and contribution to the now-infamous unsecure chat did raise eyebrows inside the CIA for its sensitive nature.
Intelligence sources said there was anger and disbelief that there had been such carelessness using Signal instead of secure communications. Officials were also concerned that sources and methods were revealed. 'It was obvious it was either a human source or drones. Either way, not OK,' said a former high-ranking intelligence official.
There are signs that Ratcliffe is walking a fine line: Trump has on at least one occasion expressed frustration that Ratcliffe is not moving faster to fire workers, reorganize the agency, and undo changes made under President Barack Obama, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Trump did have some initial skepticism about Ratcliffe before his inauguration, another source familiar with the dynamic acknowledged.
However, this person said that, as far as they know, the president has not said anything negative about his CIA director since entering the White House for his second term.
Ratcliffe has taken some visible steps toward implementing Trump's vision. He has fired some probationary employees and other officers involved in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; he has also dismissed a senior official who had been targeted by a far-right activist. Many of those officials have challenged their firings in court and legal proceedings are ongoing.
In March, Ratcliffe also welcomed Elon Musk to the agency's headquarters for a briefing and publicly commemorated the visit with a photo of the two men standing next to the famous CIA seal.
'He fired all the DEI employees even though they sued. He offered the 'fork in the road' DOGE email, even though CIA had been exempt, then went over and above and offered early retirement. Then he proactively invited Elon out to the agency and talked to him about DOGE ideas he had,' a person who works closely with Ratcliffe said, emphasizing Ratcliffe's attempts to please Trump.
And Ratcliffe has allies in the White House: Two sources familiar with the dynamic said Ratcliffe has become 'tight' with Vice President JD Vance.
Ratcliffe's relationship with Vance dates back to before Trump's inauguration in January, one of the sources said, noting the two men had several conversations about reforming the CIA prior to assuming their current roles in the president's second administration.
That balancing act has made it hard for rank-and-file CIA officers – many of whom are anxious about their careers – to judge how much to trust the new director, who multiple sources said has kept the flow of information inside the agency restricted to an extremely tight inner circle.
In one instance, career officials were pleased to hear that a 35-year veteran of the agency was a top candidate to head the CIA's operational wing – only to be disappointed when he was not given the role. Within the building, the episode left the impression that the candidate, Ralph Goff, who has been outspoken in support of Ukraine, was insufficiently supportive of the president and his views on the conflict there.
The episode is an example that 'the whole building is on tenterhooks because they don't have any idea what is going to happen next,' said the former high-ranking intelligence official.
Ratcliffe is still expected to make widespread cuts at the CIA that officials said appear tailored to elevate the role of covert operations and human intelligence gathering.
Ratcliffe, Ellis and other top officials are also holding meetings on a proposed reorganization of the agency that would combine existing offices under a new 'Americas' Mission Center to prioritize counternarcotics and counter-cartel work – previously a relatively small part of the agency's mission but a top priority under Trump.
The CIA under Trump has been flying unarmed surveillance drone missions over Mexican airspace and reviewing its legal authorities to conduct lethal action against cartels – a frequent topic of conversation at the White House, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Ratcliffe has made clear that one of his top priorities as CIA director is refocusing the agency on covert action and collecting human intelligence.
'We will collect intelligence – especially human intelligence – in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult. We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products,' Ratcliffe told Senate lawmakers during his confirmation hearing earlier this year.
'We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do,' he said.
Ratcliffe's plans also include shrinking the agency's workforce by about 1,200 personnel over the next several years through a combination of early retirement, deferred resignations, and reduced hiring, according to a source familiar with the matter.
In total, the planned cuts will affect between 5-6% of the CIA's total workforce, the source added.
But the changes are unlikely to impact hiring at CIA's Directorate of Operations, according to the source familiar with the matter. Instead, the effort appears likely to include cutting some positions currently held by analysts at the agency, suggesting a clear prioritization of officials who operate in the field over those who work to make sense of multiple streams of intelligence, according to current and former US officials.
That goal aligns with the vision outlined for the CIA in a Trump transition planning document obtained by CNN, which details how the new administration should limit analysts' ability to influence decisions related to covert operations and reassert control over those programs to ensure they are aligned with the president's policy goals.
The agency is reevaluating what were known as the 'Brennan reforms' – named for former CIA Director John Brennan – which integrated analysts with the agency's operations officers. Critics of the move have long argued that having the two roles work together compromised hard-nosed analysis. Some covert officers have also long contended that the move weakened the agency's elite spies, elevating analysts at their expense.
Under Trump, those voices appear to have gained an audience.
CNN's Alayna Treene contributed to this report.