Tulsi Gabbard axes nearly HALF of spy agency staff in earthquake 'Deep State' shake-up

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

America's top spy agency announced it will 'rightsize' its overall footprint by cutting almost half of all its employees after President Donald Trump directed that members the 'deep state' be rooted out.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent out an email to Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) employees on Wednesday announcing the launch of 'ODNI 2.0,' the culmination of a months-long effort to reduce redundancies and cut costs, including employees.
'This will reduce ODNI by over 40 percent by the end of the fiscal year 2025 and save taxpayers over $700 million per year,' an ODNI press release announcing the shift says.
An estimated 550 to 700 staffers are expected to receive the ax.
The move is directly in line with Trump's efforts to reform the intelligence community and root out the 'deep state,' multiple senior ODNI officials who worked on the sweeping review told the Daily Mail.
And Trump has given his blessing, too, the officials stressed, noting that Gabbard herself briefed the president on the staff reduction two weeks ago, alongside National Security Advisor Marco Rubio.
Created shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, ODNI oversees 18 separate intelligence arms of the U.S. government, serving as a hub designed to connect them.
Though the exact number of ODNI employees is classified, when Gabbard took over the agency, it had between 1,850 - 2,000 staff, the sources shared.
ODNI is now expected to have around 1,300 staffers following Wednesday's seismic shake-up.
Gabbard's letter said the layoffs would be effective by September 30, 2025 and would save taxpayers over $700 million annually.
The memo, which was reviewed by the Daily Mail, shares the specifics of the layoffs and has details on how the move better aligns the agency with Trump's vision.
'Mahalo,' the internal announcement ends.
In addition to ODNI staffers being let go on Wednesday, the agency has also been working to slim its workforce by not hiring vacant positions, a senior ODNI official shared.
The agency is also returning detailees - workers from other intelligence agencies on 'loan' to the ODNI - back to their original agencies.
Five senior ODNI officials briefed the Daily Mail and other outlets on the dramatic action just before it was sent out to employees.
They stressed that the reforms will help the intelligence community become more agile and reactive to emerging threats after the ODNI has remained 'relatively untouched for 20 years.'
'We couldn't move quickly enough,' one of the ODNI officials said. 'We have to move faster ... and pivot to an elite workforce.'
'DEI was a detriment to national security issues,' another senior ODNI official told the Daily Mail. 'Every position should add value.'
The slashings aim to set a framework for a larger intelligence community overhaul, the officials said, teasing that the ODNI's reforms may soon become standard across other federal intel agencies, like the CIA, FBI and others.
Several of the senior ODNI officials stated the 2.0 project will more easily enable the spy agency to sunset outdated projects and focus on priorities.
Artificial Intelligence and how foreign actors can deploy the technology, for example, is an area of interest for the agency, one senior ODNI official shared. Fighting insurgents abroad, like ISIS, is now less of a focus, they added.
Other disciplines, like the ODNI's Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC), are being shut down altogether, and their employees are either being laid off or sent to other parts of the intelligence apparatus.
The shake-up also means the National Intelligence University (NIU) will merge with the National Defense University (NDU) into a joint program now overseen by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth instead of the ODNI.
A satellite campus for the ODNI in Reston, Virginia - where the National Intelligence Council (NIC) meets - will also be shuttered and all NIC employees will now report to ODNI.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the chair of the Senate's intelligence committee, recently put forward a proposal that would limit the number of ODNI staff to 650, about half of the active workforce following Wednesday's announcement.
Even some ODNI officials pushed back against Cotton's more drastic cuts, arguing that his number appears to be too small to effectively operate the spy agency.