Pulte announces 30% ODNI staff reduction hours before Clayton vote

Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte announced another round of sweeping personnel cuts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, hours before the Senate was expected to confirm his permanent replacement.

Pulte wrote on X that "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,” he added.

He did not disclose the number of workers affected, what parts of ODNI were targeted or whether the terminations involved employees being dismissed from federal service or intelligence officers being returned to their home agencies. A significant part of ODNI’s workforce consists of personnel detailed from other parts of the intelligence community. 

It was also unclear what baseline Pulte used to calculate the 30% reduction. ODNI had already undergone substantial downsizing before he took over, including workforce reductions launched under former intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard.

The announcement came just two days after Pulte said ODNI had completed a fourth round of layoffs, which he characterized as “thoughtful” and “measured.”

Pulte has moved rapidly to shrink the office since becoming acting director in June. His earliest changes included the departure of six career and political employees and the return of roughly 50 intelligence officers to their home agencies. Affected officials have included the deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration.

President Donald Trump selected Pulte, who also leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to temporarily oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence organizations after Gabbard stepped down earlier this year, citing her husband’s cancer diagnosis. 

Pulte’s appointment drew criticism over his lack of intelligence experience and his use of the housing agency to pursue mortgage-fraud allegations involving perceived Trump adversaries, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. In his brief tenure leading ODNI, he has been involved in a sweeping document declassification spree tied to Trump’s insecurities about U.S. election security.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on Tuesday night on the nomination of Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair, to permanently serve as director of national intelligence, removing Pulte from the acting role. Clayton is expected to be confirmed after his nomination cleared a procedural vote Monday in a 51-43 party-line tally.