Trump directs new intelligence chief Bill Pulte to cut agency staff

Summary

Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he has given Bill Pulte, his newly appointed acting director of national intelligence, explicit instructions to slash staffing at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Pulte, a real estate developer with no prior intelligence background, steps into a role that coordinates information sharing across the entire U.S. Intelligence community. Trump framed the temporary nature of Pulte's appointment as an advantage, saying it leaves him "less shackled" to pursue cuts. The president specifically singled out employees who served under previous Democratic administrations, signaling the cuts would not be random but politically targeted. The ODNI has already shed considerable staff during Trump's second term, so Pulte would be accelerating a downsizing already underway. The intelligence community has repeatedly clashed with Trump, who has questioned its assessments on everything from Russian interference to geopolitical threats, and he has made no secret of viewing career intelligence officers as part of the institutional resistance to his agenda. No congressional response or timeline for the reductions has been announced.