Acting DNI Pulte Fires Dozens of Intelligence Officials

Acting DNI Bill Pulte Fires Dozens of Intelligence Officials in Sweeping ODNI Purge

Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte has moved swiftly to reshape the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, firing intelligence officials and removing career staff in a major personnel shakeup that has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers and former intelligence officials alike. Just over 50 career and political intelligence staff were removed from their roles after Pulte assumed the acting DNI position — six were terminated outright and 45 were sent back to their home agencies, according to CBS News, citing three sources familiar with the personnel moves.

The removals mark one of the most aggressive restructuring actions ever taken at ODNI, the post-9/11 agency created to coordinate the work of 18 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community. Pulte, who previously served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has no national security background, was installed by President Donald Trump with an explicit mandate to "execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office," as stated in a Trump Truth Social post cited by CNN.

Who Was Fired — and Why

According to CNN, citing four sources, Pulte fired six political appointees who had been installed by former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and separately removed dozens of career intelligence officials on joint duty assignment, sending them back to their home offices. Among those removed was William Ruger, the deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration, who was placed on administrative leave, according to CBS News.

The stated justification from ODNI leadership, as reported by MS NOW (MSNBC), was that those removed were believed to be "deep state" actors who had not provided complete pictures of available intelligence to leadership. An intelligence official told reporters that the firings were targeting individuals leadership believed had withheld information. One source familiar with the matter described the moment bluntly: "The deep state firings have begun," as reported by both NBC News and CNN.

However, that framing was immediately contested. According to MS NOW, three former senior intelligence officials said they had never heard of intelligence officials withholding information from officials above them. One unnamed former senior intelligence official called the premise "absurd."

CBS News reported that no staffers were removed from the counterterrorism group in the initial round of cuts, and that no further firings were planned for the immediate term, per two sources — though that picture may be incomplete given separate reporting on Pulte's broader intentions.

Hundreds More Cuts May Be Coming

The initial removal of just over 50 staff may represent only the beginning of a far larger restructuring. According to NBC News, a source familiar with the matter said Pulte had ordered staff members to identify 400 employees to be fired from the National Counterterrorism Center in the coming weeks — and that Pulte issued this instruction before he officially took over. Separately, Politico reported that Pulte directed staff to compile a list of 300 employees to fire from the roughly 1,000 at the National Counterterrorism Center, as cited by The Hill.

CNN also reported that a source said there could be as many as two dozen additional firings at ODNI in the coming weeks beyond the initial round of removals.

The scale of what is reportedly being planned would represent a dramatic acceleration of cuts that were already underway before Pulte arrived. An ODNI document released in August showed the agency had already reduced its size by nearly 30% — more than 500 staffers — in the first six months under Gabbard, according to NBC News. Gabbard's 2025 downsizing plan had aimed to bring ODNI's headcount from 2,000 to around 1,300, per CBS News. If Pulte's reported targets at the National Counterterrorism Center alone come to fruition, the cuts would far exceed Gabbard's original reduction goals.

Political Fallout and Congressional Alarm

The firings have triggered swift political backlash, particularly from Democrats on the congressional intelligence committees. Representative Jim Himes (D-CT) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter directly to Pulte warning him against sweeping personnel changes, writing: "Making significant structural changes to ODNI, to include a reduction in force, is not an appropriate course of action for anyone in an acting capacity, let alone without consultation with Congress, and you should refrain from doing so."

Democratic Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, in an interview on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, stated that "Americans are at risk" as a result of the changes being made at the nation's premier intelligence coordinating body.

Democrats also declined to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allowing the legal provision to expire, according to CBS News — a significant legislative consequence directly tied to concerns about Pulte's appointment and the direction of ODNI under his leadership.

Meanwhile, reaction on the Republican side has been notably different. An unnamed Republican Senate staffer told CNN: "Pulte being willing to rock the boat and send a bunch of people back to their agencies and gut the bureaucracy is a feature, not a bug for Republicans." The same staffer indicated that Republican senators had been impressed with Pulte's execution of Trump's reform agenda at DNI following initial surprise at the pick.

Pulte's Background and Key Appointments

Pulte's path to leading the nation's intelligence apparatus was unconventional by any measure. He previously served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency — a housing finance regulator — and has no national security or intelligence community experience, according to CBS News. His appointment as acting DNI came after former DNI Tulsi Gabbard announced in May that she would resign. Trump named Pulte to the acting role and separately nominated Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, as the Senate-confirmed permanent director. Trump subsequently called for Clayton's confirmation hearing to be canceled, according to CBS News.

Pulte also moved to install Christina Norton, a former Republican National Committee official with a background in elections issues, as his chief of staff at ODNI, according to MS NOW. Norton's appointment, like Pulte's own, drew scrutiny given that neither figure has a background in intelligence work.

Expert Reactions: "Horrifying" and "Helpful to Russia, China and Iran"

Former senior intelligence officials — all speaking on condition of anonymity citing concerns about retaliation — were unsparing in their assessments of the personnel purge.

One former senior intelligence official offered a stark analogy: "It would be like me taking over a hospital and firing dozens of surgeons in a matter of days."

Another described the situation in a single word: "It is horrifying."

A third former senior official delivered a pointed rebuttal to the "deep state" framing being used to justify the firings: "The intelligence community is comprised of committed professionals. This is a fantasy. It only hurts U.S. national security, and it's helpful to Russia, China and Iran."

Inside ODNI itself, the mood among remaining staff has been described as bleak. An unnamed source familiar with the dismissals told CNN: "The staff is numb and unhappy."

Context: A Broader Federal Workforce Reduction

The ODNI shakeup is unfolding within a broader federal workforce contraction. The Government Accountability Office reported that about 256,000 federal workers — representing 11% of the federal workforce — had been let go in 2025, according to NBC News. The intelligence community has been among the more visible targets of this effort, both for political reasons and because of the sensitive nature of the work conducted there.

ODNI was established after the September 11, 2001 attacks specifically to address intelligence coordination failures — the kind of systemic gaps that contributed to the U.S. government's inability to connect the dots before the attacks. The office serves as a policymaker and coordinator for the 18 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, according to CNN. Critics of the current restructuring argue that gutting the agency's career workforce and installing politically connected officials with no intelligence background risks recreating the coordination vulnerabilities ODNI was designed to prevent.

What Comes Next

Based on verified reporting, several developments are worth watching in the coming weeks. CNN's sourcing indicates there could be as many as two dozen additional firings at ODNI beyond the initial round. NBC News and Politico reporting suggests Pulte's team has been compiling lists of potential cuts at the National Counterterrorism Center that could number in the hundreds, though CBS News reported no counterterrorism staff were affected in the first wave of removals and that no further firings were imminent per two sources — a discrepancy that reflects the fluid and contested nature of reporting from inside the agency.

The status of a permanent, Senate-confirmed DNI also remains unresolved. Jay Clayton's confirmation hearing was canceled by Trump, leaving the nation's intelligence apparatus under the leadership of an acting director with no intelligence community background and no confirmed successor in sight. Whether Congress, including Republicans, will take further action in response to the firings — or the lapse of Section 702 — remains to be seen based on available reporting.

For more tech news, visit our news section.

Why This Matters Beyond Washington

Large-scale institutional disruption — whether in government agencies, corporations, or healthcare systems — has well-documented effects on organizational performance, workforce morale, and decision-making quality. The scenario unfolding at ODNI, where experienced career professionals are being rapidly replaced or removed and politically connected figures with no domain expertise are being elevated, offers a case study in the human and operational costs of abrupt institutional change. At Moccet, we cover the intersection of information, decision-making, and performance — because how organizations and individuals process information under pressure has direct consequences for outcomes that matter. Understanding the systems that inform high-stakes decisions is part of building the clarity and focus that productive, healthy living requires. Join the Moccet waitlist to stay ahead of the curve.