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Acting DNI Bill Pulte Begins Broad Purge of ODNI Staff

Top intelligence lawmakers say the personnel changes risk weakening counterterrorism coordination.

Bill Pulte speaks during a news conference at the Federal Housing Finance Association headquarters in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026.
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William Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), during a Bloomberg Television interview outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.

Overview

  • President Trump installed William Pulte as acting director of national intelligence and Pulte formally took over the office last Friday, after which he began ordering workforce reductions at ODNI.
  • Multiple outlets report that firings and reassignments began on Monday as Pulte moved to revert many detailees to their home agencies and remove several political appointees.
  • Democratic leaders on the House and Senate intelligence panels sent a June 22 letter warning Pulte not to make major cuts or improperly declassify information and reminding him to preserve records.
  • Reporting says Pulte ordered staff to identify roughly 400 National Counterterrorism Center employees as possible cuts, a step that former officials warn could degrade threat detection and interagency analysis.
  • The controversy over Pulte’s loyalty-based appointment and the staffing shakeup contributed to stalled negotiations over reauthorizing FISA Section 702 and has prompted lawmakers to seek new limits on long acting appointments.