- News
- World
- Americas
- US politics
Trump said the office size has been ‘way too high for way too long’
Michele L. Price & Seung Min-KimFriday 05 June 2026 19:50 BST- Bookmark
- CommentsGo to comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popoverTrump says Pulte won’t be permanent; CNN reports he lacked security clearance
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Get our free Inside Washington email
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
President Donald Trump on Friday called for significant cuts to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), an agency already scaled back during his administration.
He stated its size has been "way too high for way too long," adding, "if he cut, I wouldn’t mind."
Trump expects Bill Pulte, his new acting director of national intelligence, to lead these reductions. Speaking on Air Force One en route to Wisconsin, Trump praised Pulte as "very good" and "very talented."
The Republican president had told The Wall Street Journal he asked Pulte to begin firing employees, confirming he had already conveyed his views to the incoming acting DNI. Pulte, who previously led the Federal Housing Finance Agency, reportedly has no national security expertise.
Trump expects Bill Pulte, his new acting director of national intelligence, to lead these reductions (Reuters/Nathan Howard)“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, which the Journal said was in reference to intelligence community officials who had served in the Democratic administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
Trump told the Journal that he wants Pulte to “start the process” of firing personnel and that the eventual permanent director of national intelligence should continue it. The president has indicated that he would not formally nominate Pulte for the position.
“Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Trump said. “Because, if he (Pulte) reduced the size, in conjunction with me … and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in … he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn’t have to saddle somebody that goes in.”
Pulte was tapped by the president earlier this week in a surprising move that has been met with bipartisan resistance in the Senate, which confirms presidential nominations. The temporary appointment has now snarled the renewal of a critical national security surveillance program on Capitol Hill, with Democrats key to the vote pointing out that they did not trust Pulte — whose office oversees 18 intelligence agencies — to help administer the surveillance program.
Under Pulte’s successor, Tulsi Gabbard, the DNI office had already taken steps to scale back its size. In August, the Trump administration said that the office’s budget would be cut by more than $700 million per year, while slashing the size of its workforce.
At the time, Gabbard said the office had become “bloated and inefficient” while she announced the roughly 40% workforce reduction.
Gabbard resigned last month after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis.
More about
Donald TrumpTulsi GabbardDirector of National IntelligenceJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments