Tulsi Gabbard, Director of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), announced a significant reduction in the workforce and budget of the office.
The Trump administration plans to implement a 40% cut in the ODNI workforce and reduce the budget by over $700 million annually. Gabbard cited the ODNI as having grown “bloated and inefficient” over the past two decades, plagued by issues of power abuse, unauthorized leaks, and politicized weaponization of intelligence, as reported by PBS.
“….the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,” said Gabbard.
The reorganization is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reassess its evaluation of foreign threats to American elections. This topic has been politically charged due to President Trump’s resistance to the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
She emphasized the need for the intelligence community to refocus on its core mission of providing unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers.
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This move aligns with the administration’s cost-cutting mandate, which has been in effect since its inception. Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi dissolved an FBI task force dedicated to investigating foreign influence efforts.
Additionally, the Trump administration significantly reduced staffing at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which safeguards critical infrastructure, including election systems. Earlier this year, NASA announced a 20% reduction in its workforce as part of the Deferred Resignation Programme.
Moreover, the Trump administration has been reshuffling the military, with high-ranking officers like Gen. David Allvin retiring early. This trend of high-ranking exits and downsizing aligns with Gabbard’s recent move at the ODNI.
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