Over 50 Intelligence Staff Removed at National Intelligence Office

Fifty-one career and political staff at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have been removed from their roles since an acting director assumed the post on Friday. Six staff were terminated and 45 were sent back to their home agencies, according to three sources familiar with the personnel moves.

The acting director has been asking deputies and other directors for suggestions about cuts. Some deputies pushed for more cuts, but the acting director said 51 was enough for now, one source said. One source described the cuts as thoughtful and methodical.

No staffers have been removed from the counterterrorism group.

The cuts follow hundreds of staff reductions last year by the previous director, who stepped down last week. Last year's planned downsizing sought to bring the office's headcount from 2,000 to around 1,300. President Trump has pushed for further cuts, directing the acting director to "execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office" in a Truth Social post earlier this month.

The office oversees the country's intelligence agencies and helps them coordinate with each other. It was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which investigators widely believe was preceded by a failure of intelligence agencies to share information.

Congressional Reaction Republican Sen.

"While there is room to consider responsible reductions to ODNI's workforce, any large cuts would follow on a substantial downsizing that has already occurred in 2025 and risk jeopardizing the mission of an organization explicitly created after 9/11 to prevent any future such terrorist attack," the two Democrats wrote in a joint statement.