Pulte Trims Personnel at the DNIA While Preserving the Bulk of Its Workforce

The newly appointed acting director of national intelligence has begun trimming staff, but the first round of reductions has been smaller than many officials and members of Congress had anticipated, according to former insiders.

Bill Pulte, who assumed the position last Friday, dismissed six intelligence officers—including both career personnel and political appointees—and sent 45 officers who had been seconded from other intelligence agencies back to their home organizations.

Senator Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed the numbers in a speech Wednesday, noting that the downsizing represented “an important first step.”

“That’s less than five percent of the DNIA’s personnel,” Cotton said.

Former and current officials have indicated that Pulte had contemplated more extensive cuts and structural realignments—such as transferring the office’s Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence Centers to other departments—but opted to pause further action for the time being.

It remains unclear whether Pulte will pursue additional reductions in the near future.

Cotton has been advocating for a continued contraction of the office, urging that personnel slated to serve in the DNIA be returned to their respective agencies and that certain centers be relocated to enhance efficiency. He affirmed that these views have garnered bipartisan support and that he has communicated them to Pulte.

“He agrees with us that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence needs to be restored to its original size, scope, and mission,” Cotton said.

Several members of Congress from both parties have expressed that a smaller DNIA could be acceptable, provided it retains adequate capacity to oversee and coordinate the other 18 intelligence agencies. However, lawmakers have raised concerns about President Trump’s appointment of Pulte, citing his lack of relevant experience.

Democratic senators have cautioned against deep cuts, arguing that any significant reductions or restructuring should await a Senate‑confirmed director. They likened Pulte to a “hatchet man” tasked with eliminating veteran national‑security officials while targeting the president’s adversaries.

While congressional warnings likely carried limited influence with Pulte, White House officials have reportedly urged caution on the matter. The most straightforward cuts are said to target the Counterterrorism Center, owing to its size, though senior officials warn that eliminating terrorism experts could pose significant political risks.

Approximately 400 intelligence officers are assigned to the Counterterrorism Center—the office’s largest concentration of staff—tasked with monitoring threats to events such as the World Cup and combating organized crime.

“Today, I spent time with the National Counterterrorism Center team, who are doing an incredible job protecting our country under President Trump’s leadership,” Pulte posted on social media. “The room was filled with true professionals and American patriots. It is a privilege to work beside them.”

Despite these remarks, a former center official has stated that “nobody feels safe.”

Prior to Pulte’s appointment, the DNIA employed roughly 1,300 full‑time staff and between 300 and 400 contractors.

Pulte’s predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned on Friday, initiated a substantial downsizing and reorganization that cut approximately 40 percent of the agency’s workforce.

CBS News earlier reported on Pulte’s personnel reductions.

When asked for comment, a White House official referred to a June 10 social‑media post in which President Trump instructed Pulte to “execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies.”

No comment was received from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Gabbard’s representatives have left the office. It remains unclear who Pulte has designated to replace them.

Pulte assumed the role of acting director last week after President Trump withdrew his nomination of Jay Clayton. The Senate was poised to confirm Clayton promptly, but Trump appears to have permitted Pulte to serve as acting director for a transitional period.

Pulte’s agenda remains uncertain. He has purged several of Gabbard’s senior aides and has posted high‑profile images of President Trump on the agency’s social‑media feeds.

President Trump has suggested that Pulte could be “very effective” in a short time frame and has claimed that he will share information about “rigged elections.”

Gabbard had been investigating voting machines before her departure, though she had not released her findings. Trump has praised her for overseeing an FBI raid in Fulton County, Georgia, where ballots from the 2020 election were seized.

Pulte could choose to build on Gabbard’s investigations or pursue other inquiries into Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in 2020 or concerns about the midterm elections.

He could also release additional information, potentially concerning Russian meddling in the 2016 election, a topic that has long occupied Trump’s attention in relation to the FBI’s investigations and the intelligence community’s assessments of foreign interference.

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