Pulte’s Exit Gift: Fifth Round of Terminations Leaves ODNI Half the Size It Was

The acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, has pushed through multiple rounds of staff reductions at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, culminating in a reported fifth round that could cut up to 30 percent of remaining employees and shrink the agency to roughly half its size since January 2025.

Acting Director Bill Pulte is on track to be replaced soon, but he has accelerated a shakeup at ODNI that supporters frame as necessary accountability. He announced a fourth round of cuts recently, then followed with a fifth that he called the “Near Final Round” of terminations.

The latest round could affect as much as 30 percent of the workforce, according to Pulte’s announcement, which framed the moves as a push to align the office with the president’s priorities. Pulte argued the intelligence community should focus on protecting Americans instead of serving what he called “the political whims of the bloated and corrupt elite class.”

https://x.com/DNIPulte/status/2082069735118967004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The acting director emphasized the need for personnel who back the administration’s agenda and the declassification efforts it has pursued, saying the changes reflect that direction. He made clear that those who undermine the agenda are not the fit he wants in the agency going forward.

Good News! In addition to the Historic DECLASSIFICATIONS (Transparency!) by the President, we are, this morning, Executing a 5th and Near Final Round of TERMINATIONS, an approximately 30% Staff Reduction from Weeks Ago. The Intelligence Community must protect the American people, NOT the political whims of the bloated and corrupt elite class.

Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI drew partisan blowback when announced, but his critics have not stopped the restructuring. Opponents argued he lacked intelligence experience, while supporters said the office needed a reset to eliminate bureaucratic inertia and restore mission focus.

The appointment itself followed Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation as DNI earlier in June, and the handoff to Pulte included instructions from the president to downsize ODNI. The president asked Pulte to “execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office,” a directive now playing out through these multiple rounds of layoffs.

Pulte also serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a dual role that prompted concern among some observers about qualifications and priorities. That debate intensified after he referred several high-profile figures to the Justice Department for alleged mortgage fraud, a move that angered Democrats at the time.

Publicly available reporting noted the agency had already cut at least 200 positions since early June, a figure that included reductions made under Gabbard and the rounds Pulte has overseen. Those cuts left the agency substantially smaller than it was at the start of the president’s term, and this fifth round suggests the shrinkage is continuing.

Officials aligned with the administration argue the reductions remove “DeepStaters” who work to frustrate presidential policy, and they present the moves as restoring accountability and competence. Supporters say a leaner ODNI focused on core missions, law, and statute is preferable to a larger office perceived as politically biased.

Pulte commented on the transition and the latest actions in a social media post outlining the rationale behind the layoffs. He described the process as careful and measured and framed it as part of a refocusing of ODNI on national security essentials.

Since becoming Acting Director of National Intelligence, our team has been smartly, and carefully, reducing the size of ODNI, re-focusing ODNI on national security, the law, and the statute. As of this evening, we just finished a 4th round of thoughtful, measured layoffs. Thank you!

Precise totals for all the cuts remain unclear, but the combination of rounds reported earlier and the new announcements suggests the workforce is now dramatically reduced. If the numbers reported elsewhere are accurate, many positions once considered routine inside ODNI no longer exist.

Reaction inside Washington has been mixed, with some officials warning about capability loss and others insisting the changes were overdue. The debate now centers on whether a smaller, more politically aligned ODNI can maintain intelligence coverage and legal obligations while following the administration’s directives.

As Pulte’s tenure as acting DNI winds down and a permanent nominee moves through confirmation, the personnel changes already made will shape the office’s capabilities for months to come. The restructuring has shifted roles and priorities inside ODNI, and those effects will be measured against future events and the agency’s performance under new leadership.