Tulsi Gabbard green-lights plans to slash ODNI staff
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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard with President Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 12. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is moving forward with the next phase of plans to significantly slash staffing in her department, in part by shedding roles Gabbard says are pushing "partisan priorities."
Why it matters: After a months-long review, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is "returning to mission" by further reducing staff, according to a briefing with five senior ODNI officials who assisted with the effort.
The big picture: President Trump has long been skeptical of ODNI and has had ongoing conversations with Gabbard about entirely shutting down the office since the transition, one senior official said.
- "When the president asked her to do this job, that was part of the conversation," the senior official said, adding that whether to shutter the agency remained "a very open question."
- Gabbard has told the president she's fine with being the last-ever DNI, but her review found that ODNI still serves an important role for the intelligence community, officials said.
- Gabbard's review also implements DEI-related cuts directed by Trump's executive orders, the senior official said.
By the numbers: ODNI staff were notified Wednesday afternoon of the cuts, which include eliminating positions, returning employees detailed from other agencies to their main posts and not back-filling vacant positions.
- The agency had nearly 2,000 employees when Gabbard was confirmed in February, a senior ODNI official told reporters. As of mid-August, that number is down to about 1,500.
- After this reorganization, ODNI will have about 1,300 staffers.
Between the lines: Gabbard said in a letter to staff Wednesday that the External Research Council and Strategic Futures Group — both of which will be cut entirely — "operated as hubs for injecting partisan priorities into intelligence projects."
- Several other components will be consolidated within the National Intelligence Council, including the Foreign Malign Influence Center, the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center.
- The Foreign Malign Influence Center will lose 19 staffers, one official said.
- Other department figures weren't shared.
Zoom out: Gabbard briefed Trump, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Marco Rubio — in Rubio's capacity as national security adviser — about the planned force reduction two weeks ago, the officials said.
- It's estimated that the measures will save $700 million a year.
- Staffers who are being let go will have about 60 days' notice from Wednesday's announcement before their termination takes effect, one senior official said.
Go deeper: Trump administration revokes security clearances of 37 U.S. officials
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
