President Trump Directs Pulte to Downsize Intelligence Office

President Trump directed William J. Pulte to downsize the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and remove individuals he views as political enemies, The Washington Times reported. Pulte, who has no intelligence experience, serves as the temporary replacement for Tulsi Gabbard and will remain acting DNI for at least the next few months.

The White House canceled the confirmation hearing for permanent nominee Jay Clayton last week. President Trump conditioned the hearing on Senate confirmation of James McDonald as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and passage of the SAVE America Act.

The White House has not sent McDonald’s nomination to the Senate, and the legislation lacks sufficient votes. During her tenure as DNI, Gabbard eliminated three of the five national centers that existed when she took office. Those centers were the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center.

The ODNI was established in 2004 to coordinate intelligence activities across agencies. An April 2025 National Intelligence Council assessment concluded that the Venezuelan government was not coordinating operations of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang. Gabbard later fired acting National Intelligence Council chair Michael Collins and vice chair Maria Langan-Riekhof.

Sen. Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the ODNI has grown beyond its original mandate and called for returning officers to their home agencies. Sen. Jerry Moran said attention should be paid to the office’s role and that efficiencies remain possible.